AT&T is using Ericsson as its primary 5G radio vendor. Now it's using Ericsson to onboard other open RAN radio vendors like Japan's Fujitsu and Mavenir, based in Texas.
AT&T announced that Mavenir will supply the company with 5G radios. The development is a huge win for vendor Mavenir, which has struggled to leverage the open RAN trend into concrete sales.
AT&T said Mavenir, based in Texas, will join Sweden's Ericsson and Japan's Fujitsu as its 5G radio vendors. Mavenir's other 5G radio customers include Paradise Mobile and Triangle Communications.
Mavenir has been selling open RAN software for years, but it entered the 5G radio sector in 2022 with its OpenBeam brand.
AT&T's embrace of Mavenir stems from its massive $14 billion open RAN deal with Ericsson, announced at the end of last year. Under that agreement, Ericsson will act as AT&T's primary 5G network vendor, helping remove Nokia's legacy equipment and onboarding other open RAN vendors like Fujitsu.
Mavenir's radios for AT&T will be managed by Ericsson's Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP).
Questions and details
However, the details of Mavenir's new contract with AT&T are unclear. AT&T said it would only use Mavenir radios in "crowded urban areas," which are typically covered by small cell radios rather than massive macro cell sites. The operator did not say how many Mavenir radios it would use nor when it might start deploying those radios.
Jeff McElfresh, the AT&T executive now in charge of the operator's 5G buildout, said that AT&T will initially deploy Mavenir and Fujitsu radios in small cell locations. But he said that could change over time.
"Maybe the initial thinking is it's small cells, but there's a bigger strategy at play here," McElfresh said during a media event Tuesday. McElfresh explained that small cells could play an important role inside AT&T's network as network traffic increases. After all, small cells are viewed as a way to increase overall wireless network capacity in the absence of additional spectrum.
In its Mavenir announcement, AT&T said it would deploy C-band small cell radios (TDD 4T4R) and dual-band small cell radios (B25/B66 FDD 4T4R) from Mavenir and Fujitsu. "We are continuing to look for opportunities to bring additional third-party radios into the network when needed," the operator added.
Mavenir's trajectory
The AT&T contract represents a feather in Mavenir's cap. And it's timely: Aramco Digital, the tech-focused subsidiary of oil giant Saudi Aramco, is reportedly poised to pump $1 billion into Mavenir for a significant minority stake in the business.
That cash is needed. S&P Global recently warned that Mavenir is close to default or restructuring because it has insufficient funds to cover looming debt obligations.
If the Aramco deal goes ahead, Mavenir would be valued at about $3 billion.
Aramco Digital's top executive, Tareq Amin, recently changed his LinkedIn profile to CEO of "confidential." That has led to some social media speculation that Amin – who left Rakuten's telecom business to lead Aramco Digital – might be taking on a role at Mavenir through Aramco's rumored financing.
A Mavenir official declined to comment on the topic.
Article updated December 4 with response from Mavenir.
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