Rakuten Symphony has partnered with Grameenphone, Bangladesh’s largest mobile operator, to deploy an Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) pilot, marking one of the first such initiatives in South Asia.
The pilot will cover 4G and 5G non-Standalone (NSA) sites, serving as the foundation for a future nationwide Open RAN rollout across Grameenphone’s network, which currently reaches about 86 million subscribers.
Key Deployment Features
- Rakuten Symphony’s role: Supplying the Centralised Unit (CU), Distributed Unit (DU), 4G/5G Radio Units, and OSS solutions.
- Open RAN advantage: Aims to deliver greater flexibility, vendor diversity, and cost efficiencies while enabling faster innovation in mobile networks.
Strategic Statements
- Sharad Sriwastawa, President of Rakuten Symphony: “Our collaboration with Grameenphone, one of South Asia’s inaugural Open RAN deployments, is a testament to our vision for the future of telecommunications.”
- Jai Prakash, CTO of Grameenphone: “This Open RAN pilot is a significant step towards building a future-ready network.”
