Mavenir opens radio R&D unit in Ericsson's backyard

When the time came to open a new R&D facility focused on radio technology, the US software company could find no better place than Stockholm.

Iain Morris, International Editor

October 3, 2019

3 Min Read
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Mavenir has gone Scandi in its efforts to plug an important hole in its virtualization portfolio, today opening a new research facility in Stockholm that will specialize in radio access networks (RAN).

It's the US software company's first "center of innovation" dedicated to RAN technology, and Mavenir figured there was no better place for RAN expertise than the Swedish capital, where Ericsson engineers are a regular feature of the landscape.

Mikael Rylander, the man in charge of the new facility, used to be one himself, having spent nearly 12 years at the Swedish equipment giant before switching to Mavenir in October last year.

But, as he tells Light Reading, it's not just about luring staff from Ericsson. China's ZTE closed a Swedish facility last year, he says, and Mavenir was able to grab some of its engineers when that happened. Huawei, Ericsson's main rival, also has a research presence in Stockholm, as does Swedish telco Telia. And there is the highly regarded Royal Institute of Technology, too. "Stockholm is a good recruiting ground," says Rylander.

The innovation center will have about 50 employees when it's fully staffed and feature a lab where technical experts can perform their magic, linking to an internal core network stack and messaging platform. Wasting no time, Mavenir has already demonstrated 5G new radio technology in conjunction with new interfaces developed by the O-RAN Alliance, an operator-led association working on open alternatives to the more proprietary interfaces used in today's networks.

Mavenir has previously touted these open interfaces as a big threat to the established order and an opportunity for smaller companies to break into the RAN market. And while Ericsson joined the O-RAN Alliance earlier this year, Rylander says they have not been the most active participant.

"They are not at the front. They are cherry-picking a bit. But they are not on the barricades," he says.

Even so, with Mavenir's new research presence in Stockholm there could be opportunities to partner with Ericsson in future, says Rylander. "We can do things they can't, and they have things which are tougher for us," he says. "Cooperation is needed in this ecosystem. I can see all the big vendors will start to join the ecosystem."

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Huawei will have to change its tune, though. While Ericsson and Nokia are now O-RAN Alliance members, the Chinese behemoth has so far declined to get involved, insisting that off-the-shelf hardware is no match for its dedicated kit.

The real reason -- according to John Baker, Mavenir's senior vice president of business development -- is fear of competition. "If Huawei goes open RAN in China, it will have tens of new radio manufacturers in China actually cannibalizing its market," he told Light Reading earlier this year.

Regardless of what Huawei does, Rylander says equipment designed to O-RAN Alliance specifications needs to mature before the technology can be deployed in commercial networks at scale. "We need servers targeting this segment and radios with open interfaces, and both servers and radios need to be designed for high-volume production," he says. "That is what we are working on in the ecosystem."

In the meantime, Ericsson may need to keep an eye on radio experts with itchy feet -- now Mavenir is on the prowl in its own neighborhood.

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— Iain Morris, International Editor, Light Reading

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About the Author

Iain Morris

International Editor, Light Reading

Iain Morris joined Light Reading as News Editor at the start of 2015 -- and we mean, right at the start. His friends and family were still singing Auld Lang Syne as Iain started sourcing New Year's Eve UK mobile network congestion statistics. Prior to boosting Light Reading's UK-based editorial team numbers (he is based in London, south of the river), Iain was a successful freelance writer and editor who had been covering the telecoms sector for the past 15 years. His work has appeared in publications including The Economist (classy!) and The Observer, besides a variety of trade and business journals. He was previously the lead telecoms analyst for the Economist Intelligence Unit, and before that worked as a features editor at Telecommunications magazine. Iain started out in telecoms as an editor at consulting and market-research company Analysys (now Analysys Mason).

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