C114 - March 3, Beijing time (AIS) - Johan wibergh, chief technology officer of Vodafone group, said in a speech at MWC 2022 that by 2030, Vodafone will use open ran technology in 30% of its base stations in its European network.

He said that about 30000 stations in Europe will eventually use open ran, and rural areas will first benefit from 4G and 5g new base stations with more flexible radio technology. When the project is extended to urban areas, any existing 5g base station equipment will be replaced and reused elsewhere to reduce unnecessary waste.

Nick read, CEO of Vodafone group, said in MWC’s keynote speech, “we need a local scale to narrow the investment gap and ensure that we can quickly deploy 5g. We need a regional scale to narrow the digital gap.” At present, 5g coverage in Europe is low, with only 10% of the population, while 5g networks in China and the United States have reached 60% and 45% of the population respectively.

Vodafone has always been one of the key drivers for the development and use of open ran technology. The company has deployed one of the first open ran base stations in Wales. Subsequently, Vodafone built an open ran base station in Cornwall and the first 5g open ran station in the UK.

Nick read called open ran a “good example of departmental collaboration”. He emphasized Vodafone’s work through cooperation with the Spanish government, such as opening a pan European R & D center in Malaga, creating a European v-hub service, and helping small and medium-sized enterprises realize business digitization.