Altran, global leader in Engineering and R&D services (ER&D), has created an industry-first disaggregated fronthaul framework based on Intel field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that will enable wireless carriers and network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) to accelerate large-scale 5G fronthaul deployment in a scalable manner. The framework was demoed Oct. 22-24 at the Mobile World Congress Los Angeles.
“5G fronthaul networks must dovetail with the wireless ecosystem, and Altran is uniquely positioned to address the diverse requirements of 5G with expertise and software assets across the digital stack and the mobile infrastructure,” said Dominique Cerutti, Chairman and CEO of Altran. “And our decade-long strategic partnership with Intel helps us build ready-to-deploy solutions that can dramatically accelerate time to market for our OEM customers.”
Altran’s Fronthaul Gateway software framework enables radio aggregation from CPRI and eCPRI interfaces for transport over Ethernet networks using IEEE 1914.3 RoE and eCPRI. The framework satisfies demands for low-latency transport and stringent quality of service (QoS), with support for time-sensitive networking (TSN) and telecom timing profiles. Support for the ORAN management plane with NETCONF/YANG and REST application programming interfaces (APIs) enables advanced software defined networking (SDN) capabilities and full programmability. Using Intel’s FPGA with Altran’s Fronthaul Gateway framework, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can speed up 5G fronthaul deployment and support new use cases.
The framework also supports full carrier Ethernet features with operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) and protection. It includes IPv4/v6 routing, IP virtual private networks (VPNs) and Ethernet VPN (EVPN) with multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), segment routing and a variety of transport options for deployments that combine fronthaul, mid-haul and backhaul capabilities.
“Intel FPGAs deliver flexible, programmable acceleration which enables the 5G ecosystem, spanning from virtual BBU to fronthaul gateway appliances and radio units,” said Patrick Dorsey, Vice President of FPGA and Power Product Marketing at Intel. “Intel has invested and delivered solutions that span silicon devices, intellectual property and tools which, in collaboration with innovators like Altran, enable fast time to market of hardware-accelerated 5G fronthaul solutions.”
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