Vodafone switched on the UK’s first 5G OpenRAN site that carries live customer traffic in Bath, England, earlier this year.
Vodafone Group Plc (LON: VOD) shares traded around 130.60 pence, up approximately 3.17%, as of Jan 31, 2022, at 12:17 p.m. GMT. Europe’s largest 5G mobile networking company Vodafone has partnered with Intel Corp (NASDAQ: INTC) among other notable Silicon tech companies to design its chip architecture for OpenRAN network technology.
Speaking to Reuters, Vodafone’s director of network architecture, Santiago Tenorio, noted that OpenRAN is bound to redefine the mobile networking industry hugely.
By incorporating the artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Tenorio is confident that OpenRAN is set to commercialize the 5G network and its vast capabilities.
“It will bring disruptive innovation back to the network,” he said.
Notably, OpenRAN has been dubbed as the future of 5G and 6G. Moreover, OpenRAN enables a new dimension of interoperability and hardware flexibility. In order to scale the possibilities of the 5G network, telecommunication engineers designed the OpenRAN architecture with virtualized RAN that is AI-enabled in mind.
The nascent OpenRAN technology is bound to eliminate barriers created by chip makers by having a universal technology. Moreover, the fifth-generation wireless network promises to connect more devices at a much faster and cheaper speed. Thereby making the development of OpenRAN technology a critical milestone to the global adoption of the 5G network.
Vodafone and the OpenRAN Development
Due to the telecommunications sensitivity in regards to the geopolitical differences, Vodafone’s partnership with Intel and other Silicon poses huge competition to Chinese companies including Huawei.
In its latest European 5G ban, Huawei has criticized the Swedish government for its decision on the 5G rollout in the country. “The Swedish authorities’ decision to discriminate against Huawei and exclude it from the 5G rollout has significantly harmed Huawei’s investment in Sweden, in breach of Sweden’s international obligations,” the company said in a statement.
The race for the global 5G network rollout continues to further divide countries across their geopolitical markets.
Vodafone switched on the UK’s first 5G OpenRAN site that carries live customer traffic in Bath, England, earlier this year. The global telecommunication company is heavily invested to compete with other companies including Ericsson, and Nokia.
According to market data provided by MarketWatch, Vodafone (NASDAQ: VOD) has a market valuation of approximately $46.32 billion. As a major technological company during the pandemic, VOD shares performed positively. In the UK market, VOD shares are up approximately 4%, 17%, and 20% in the past year, YTD, and three months respectively.
Having been rated 23 times, VOD shares received an average rating of BUY with an average price target of $22.54.
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