Antevia joins O-RAN Alliance to simplify enterprise 5G deployment

In a move that the company says reflects growing industry momentum towards open, disaggregated and software-driven radio access network (RAN) architectures that can accelerate adoption of private 5G across enterprise environments, Antevia Networks has joined the O-RAN Alliance, the global community of mobile operators, suppliers, and research and academic institutions.

The telecoms equipment supplier believes that working in the alliance will support the development of O-RAN specifications and standards to support ease of deployment and management for 5G private networks, and change the economics of their operation. Through its participation in the alliance, Antevia added that it will also contribute to improving interoperability, flexibility and ease of deployment of enterprise cellular networks. 

At the heart of the move is Antevia’s O-RAN-based 5G Shift offering, which is designed to address challenges that have historically limited private network adoption, including deployment complexity, high costs and specialist integration requirements. Said to be built to simplify installation and management, the platform combines cellular performance with operational simplicity comparable with enterprise Wi-Fi.

“The mobile industry neatly illustrates the power of industry associations, working together to design and develop standards and specifications for technology which ensures interoperability between vendors,” said Antevia Networks CEO Simon Cosgrove.

“The O-RAN Alliance has been at the forefront of radio development, and we are delighted to have become a member, and look forward to collaborating to drive innovation and adoption of 5G private networks.”

When 5G Shift was introduced in February 2024, Antevia said that while the O-RAN Alliance had “done a great job” in specifying a set of interfaces that allow multiple radio access component suppliers to work together, collaborate and integrate a 5G radio access network, the specifications were designed to encompass many types of 5G RAN, such as a large wide area coverage network for a mobile operator, down to a tiny-scale private network to cover an indoor location such as an office, workshop or factory.

By contrast, 5G Shift was said to be created to distil down only the most essential set of functions and options needed for deploying a 5G enterprise private network. Antevia said that by selecting the most beneficial features and options, it is possible to bring together an ecosystem of partners who can collaborate easily to create 5G private networks that match enterprises’ demands for high-performing, affordable 5G connectivity in their workplace.

Intelligent fronthaul technology takes advantage of an O-RAN-defined function in the network called a Fronthaul Multiplexor (FHM). Including an FHM in the network makes it possible to manipulate the streams of radio signals coming from each antenna to both control where each stream is flowing and extract valuable information about the network load and demand.

5G Shift uses a cloud-based, virtualised RAN architecture built on O-RAN principles and commercial off-the-shelf hardware. Its patented multiplexing and Shared Cell technologies allow multiple radios to operate as a single 5G cell, minimising handovers and reducing infrastructure requirements. In deployments to date, this has been as few as a tenth of those required for Wi-Fi, claimed Antevia.

Ultimately, the end-to-end private network is easy to design, fast to deploy and simple to operate, making enterprise-grade 5G accessible to small and medium-sized enterprises and smaller venues for the first time.