Africa invited to test out 5G OpenRAN at NEC XON Experience Centre
South Africa-based systems integrator NEC XON is confident of the value proposition attached to emerging technologies, like 5G OpenRAN, for Africa. So much so, the company has officially marked the end of a two-year capacity building project at its Experience Centre in Midrand, Gauteng, South Africa, and invites customers to test use cases and business models – especially that of 5G OpenRAN.
The Experience Centre also includes demonstrations and testing facilities for integrated or standalone solutions such as sustainable energy, digital self-service know your customer (KYC), and communications infrastructure.
Johann Coetzee, Executive VP of NEC XON, said, “We know that the pace of new technology developments is extremely fast and advances can be significant. That can make it difficult for customers to predict the business case and supporting architecture, particularly where there is no commercial precedent, which is why we developed the Experience Centre. It is a demonstration and sandbox environment that enables customers to create, test, and develop the use cases they want to explore before they provide significant investment.”
In July this year the company hosted a 5G OpenRAN event in Johannesburg and reiterated that as disruptive 4IR technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and blockchain take root, 5G OpenRAN provides the building blocks to enable migration to the next level of connectivity.
At the event Coetzee said the company has invested over US$4.4-billion in open software over the past five years and connectivity will remain a priority focus going forward.
In line with the company’s ongoing endorsement of 5G OpenRAN infrastructure, the Experience Centre will be used to explore use cases and demonstrate the advantages associated with the technology.
Wally Beelders, Executive, Communications Solutions at NEC XON, added, “There are many use cases for 5G Open RAN. From industrial automation to smart cities, the top 15 also include the Open RAN multi-vendor environment for mobile operators, network slicing, and private 5G.”
According to Beelders and Coetzee 5G Open RAN can deliver high throughput solutions for metro environments as well as low-cost rural deployments.
They explained that network slicing enables multiple operators to share infrastructure. Private 5G helps mobile operators to position services into new markets that include mining, enterprise, or high-density commercial organisations via regional or campus setups.
“Customers can test all of these,” said Coetzee.
Anthony Laing, Head of Networking at NEC XON, also said, “We have spent two years developing the 5G Open RAN capabilities of the Experience Centre. There is no other facility like this in Africa and it took significant investment in skills and resources to establish Africa’s first 5G Open RAN platform where customers can test future use cases.”
The Experience Centre additionally demonstrates the capabilities of NEC XON’s digital self-service KYC solution that incorporates digital kiosks, identity verification, connectivity, security, maintenance, and support.
A key attribute is that they harness the power of biometric verification, which means they help businesses to meet regulatory requirements and are extremely powerful extensions of customer experience processes.
Grahame Saunders, Head of Identity Management at NEC XON, added, “All types of customers can get the full experience of how these solutions may impact their businesses in various ways. From new customer experiences to streamlined operations, cost-reductions, service delivery enhancements, and logistics and supply improvements. Different sectors use these solutions differently. Government would typically deploy digital self-service for citizen services, the education sector for faculty, student, and visitor services, and mobile networks for services.”