NTT DOCOMO, a leading telecommunications company, has made a groundbreaking move by deploying the world’s first GPU-accelerated 5G network. This deployment is set to improve performance and deliver significant cost savings for the company. As generative AI continues to gain momentum across corporate boardrooms globally, telecommunications companies are looking for ways to efficiently deliver AI applications to the edge over 5G and upcoming 6G networks. The deployment of a GPU-accelerated wireless solution by NTT DOCOMO aims to address these challenges and unlock the potential of Open RAN.
Open RAN offers the opportunity to build next-generation 5G networks with unparalleled flexibility and scalability, thanks to multivendor connections. NTT DOCOMO is working alongside NVIDIA to develop infrastructure solutions that meet these needs. The 5G Open RAN solution deployed by NTT DOCOMO utilizes a high-performance 5G virtual radio access network (vRAN) from Fujitsu, which is built on the NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack and NVIDIA Converged Accelerators. This combination enables telcos to create a fully software- and cloud-defined network that can dynamically allocate resources using industry-standard equipment.
NTT DOCOMO’s 5G Open RAN solution, powered by the NVIDIA Aerial platform, promises to lower costs and reduce power consumption. Compared to its existing 5G network deployments, DOCOMO expects this solution to reduce total costs by up to 30%, network design utilization by up to 50%, and power consumption at base stations by up to 50%. These improvements will not only enhance the performance of the network but also contribute to energy efficiency, a crucial aspect in today’s digital landscape.
Fujitsu, NVIDIA, and Wind River have been collaborating under the OREX (5G Open RAN service brand) to develop the Open RAN 5G vRAN. This solution, deployed in Japan, leverages commercial off-the-shelf servers, the Wind River cloud platform, Fujitsu’s 5G vRAN software, and the NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack and NVIDIA Converged Accelerators. Wind River’s Chief Technology Officer, Paul Miller, expresses excitement about the collaboration, stating that Wind River Studio provides a cloud-native, distributed cloud, automation, and analytics solution based on open source principles. This solution facilitates the deployment and management of 5G edge networks globally with high scale and faster innovation.
NTT DOCOMO and its partners in OREX are committed to promoting a multivendor, Open RAN-compliant 5G vRAN to the global operator community. The commercial deployment of this solution in Japan marks the first step in realizing the vision of OREX. By commercially validating their solutions and promoting them to other operators globally, members of OREX aim to drive the transformation of telecommunications networks and unlock their full potential.
NVIDIA’s contribution to NTT DOCOMO’s GPU-accelerated 5G network deployment is part of a larger portfolio of 5G solutions that are revolutionizing the telecommunications industry. Using NVIDIA’s Aerial vRAN stack, Converged Accelerators, BlueField data processing units (DPUs), and AI frameworks, telco operators can leverage high-performance, software-defined, cloud-native, AI-enabled 5G networks for optimum performance and efficient operations.
With NTT DOCOMO’s pioneering deployment and collaboration with industry leaders, the telecommunications sector is set to experience significant enhancements in network performance, cost savings, flexibility, and scalability. The deployment of GPU-accelerated networks is a significant milestone in the journey towards advanced AI applications and the realization of the full potential of 5G and upcoming 6G networks.
