Riyadh, February 28, 2024, Under the esteemed patronage of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, stc Group, a prominent driver of digital transformation, has embarked on a groundbreaking initiative by awarding the commercial 4G/5G Open RAN project to a prime System Integrator, "Solutions by stc." This milestone project, a first in the Middle East & Africa (MEA) region, signifies a strategic collaboration between stc Group, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), and Red Sea Global, aimed at adopting innovative technologies and fortifying the digital infrastructure.
The initiative heralds a paradigm shift in network infrastructure, introducing Openness, virtualization, and AI/ML-based automation in the Access network. It represents a pivotal step towards transitioning networks into fully cloud-native access networks, serving as a cornerstone for the development of advanced next-generation wireless infrastructure tailored to meet the diverse needs of customers and enterprises.
This ambitious project is poised to leverage the Open RAN standard architecture to revolutionize the network, implementing a fully multi-vendor, interoperable, cloud-native approach with centralized orchestration of RAN. The transformation endeavors to enhance network performance, facilitate the adoption of new use cases, ensure scalability, and deliver real-time services through a diverse and open supply chain.
The announcement of this transformative project underscores stc's unwavering commitment to leading Open RAN technological advancements in the region, reinforcing its strategic drive towards a digital future. This initiative aligns seamlessly with stc's DARE initiative and plays a pivotal role in advancing the Kingdom's Vision 2030 national objectives of establishing cutting-edge digital infrastructure.
The journey towards Open RAN adoption commenced with a feasibility study in 2020, followed by the signing of MoUs with leading ORAN vendors to gain insights into the technology. stc pioneered Open RAN initiatives in the region, successfully conducting two 4G/5G O-RAN 7-2x Live trials in 2021-22, involving leading RAN vendor ecosystems.
Elaborating on the technical aspects, stc will deploy a multi-carrier 4G and 5G NSA (Non-Standalone), Open virtual RAN featuring the 7-2X split architecture in an urban area near Riyadh. The deployment adheres fully to the O-RAN Alliance standard architecture, encompassing all Open interfaces.
Collaborating with Mavenir, a leading ORAN solution provider, stc will establish new EDGE Data centers in partnership with prominent IT vendors RedHat, Dell, and Cisco, to host containerized RAN and automation workloads. An advanced automation layer from Juniper will be deployed, including a Radio intelligent controller (RIC near Real-time & Non-Real-time) and SMO (service & management orchestrator) with AI/ML-based x/r-Apps.
stc has also established an ORAN Testing Lab (E2E) with a multi-vendor ecosystem, facilitating testing and experimentation of new services, software & hardware, interoperability, automation platforms, and app validation. This initiative aims to nurture local talent by providing hands-on experience in the evolving field of open RAN and edge computing technology.
Eng. Haithem Alfaraj, GCTO, stc Group, emphasized the significance of the Open RAN project, stating that it marks a pivotal milestone towards the evolution of open interfaces, virtualization, and AI/ML-based automation in the Radio Access network. He highlighted stc's commitment to fostering innovation and automation within the mobile network domain, solidifying its position as a leader in driving industry-wide transformation.
This technological advancement seamlessly aligns with stc's strategic vision towards a digital future, serving as a cornerstone of its commitment to delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure and remaining at the forefront of driving innovation in the digital landscape.
