NVIDIA Works With NTT DOCOMO to Launch World’s First GPU-Accelerated 5G Network

As generative AI sweeps throughout company boardrooms world wide, international telecommunications firms are exploring the best way to cost-effectively ship many of those new AI functions to the sting over 5G and upcoming 6G networks.

Telcos plan to deploy over 17 million 5G microcells and towers worldwide by 2025. Constructing, managing and optimizing this new infrastructure whereas sustaining quality-of-service supply and maximizing the shopper expertise is the {industry}’s subsequent large problem.

At present, NTT DOCOMO introduced it’s deploying a GPU-accelerated wi-fi answer in its community in Japan. This makes it the first-ever telco on the earth to deploy a GPU-accelerated business 5G community.

DOCOMO’s transfer goals to handle the multibillion greenback downside of driving enhancements in efficiency, complete price of possession and power effectivity whereas unlocking the flexibleness, scalability and provide chain range promise of Open RAN.

The 5G Open RAN answer makes use of a high-performance 5G digital radio entry community (vRAN) from Fujitsu constructed on the NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack and NVIDIA Converged Accelerators. This mix allows telcos to create a completely software- and cloud-defined community that may dynamically allocate assets utilizing industry-standard gear.

“Open RAN presents the chance to construct next-generation 5G networks with unprecedented flexibility and scalability because of multivendor connections,” stated Sadayuki Abeta, international head of Open RAN options at NTT DOCOMO. “We sit up for persevering with working with NVIDIA on infrastructure options that meet these wants.”

The 5G Open RAN answer is the primary 5G vRAN for telco business deployment utilizing the NVIDIA Aerial platform, with a hardened, carrier-grade vRAN stack. The platform brings collectively the NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack for 5G, AI frameworks, accelerated compute infrastructure and long-term software program assist and upkeep.

Price and Power-Effectivity Advantages of GPU Acceleration

Working with choices from Fujitsu and Wind River, the brand new 5G answer makes use of the NVIDIA Aerial platform to decrease prices and cut back energy consumption. In comparison with its present 5G community deployments, DOCOMO says the answer reduces complete prices by as much as 30%, community design utilization by as much as 50%, and energy consumption at base stations by as much as 50%.

“Delivering a 5G Open RAN community that meets stringent efficiency necessities of operators is a major accomplishment,” stated Masaki Taniguchi, senior vp and head of the Cell System Enterprise Unit at Fujitsu Restricted. “Utilizing our Fujitsu vCU/vDU, together with NVIDIA Aerial platform, will assist community operators to effectively construct high-performance 5G networks for shoppers and companies alike.”

NVIDIA’s contribution to the DOCOMO rollout is a part of a rising portfolio of 5G options which can be driving transformation within the telecommunications {industry}. Anchored on NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack and NVIDIA Converged Accelerators — mixed with NVIDIA BlueField knowledge processing items (DPUs) and a collection of AI frameworks — NVIDIA gives a high-performance, software-defined, cloud-native, AI-enabled 5G for on-premises and telco operators’ RAN.

Fujitsu, NVIDIA and Wind River have been working underneath the OREX (5G Open RAN service model), which was launched by DOCOMO in February 2021, to develop the Open RAN 5G vRAN. OREX has been deployed in Japan primarily based on Fujitsu’s virtualized DU (vDU) and virtualized CU (vCU) and leverages business off-the-shelf servers, the Wind River cloud platform, Fujitsu’s 5G vRAN software program and the NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack and NVIDIA Converged Accelerators.

“Wind River is delighted to work with NTT DOCOMO, Fujitsu and NVIDIA in direction of a imaginative and prescient of improved effectivity of RAN deployments and operations,” stated Paul Miller, chief expertise officer at Wind River. “Wind River Studio gives a cloud-native, distributed cloud, automation, and analytics answer primarily based on open supply, in order that operators can deploy and handle their 5G edge networks globally at excessive scale with quicker innovation. This answer is confirmed in extremely scaled manufacturing deployments at this time.”

OREX: Constructing Out From Japan and Past

DOCOMO and its companions in OREX are selling a multivendor, Open RAN-compliant 5G vRAN to the worldwide operator group. The business deployment in Japan is a primary step within the imaginative and prescient of OREX, the place members can commercially validate their options after which promote them to different operators globally.

NVIDIA is working with DOCOMO and different companions to assist operators world wide to deploy high-performance, energy-efficient, software-defined, business 5G vRAN.