COMBA AND TURKCELL COLLABORATE TO LAUNCH OPEN RAN TRIALS
Support the RAN architecture transformation of Turkcell Group starting from the first trial in Turkey
(1 Mar 2022, Hong Kong) – Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Limited (“Comba Telecom” or “the Group”, SEHK stock code: 2342), a global leading wireless solutions provider, today announced that Comba Network Systems Company Limited (“Comba Network”), an indirect subsidiary of Comba Telecom has completed an Open RAN deployment in the network of Turkcell, a telecommunications and technology services provider founded and headquartered in Turkey, to support the RAN architecture transformation of the Turkcell Group, starting from the first trial in Turkey.
Comba Network is a pioneering Open RAN hardware supplier that has leveraged its future-proof solutions to help inspire the telecom industry to shift to Open RAN. Through the Turkcell collaboration, Comba Network provided Open RAN compliant Remote Radio Units (“RRU”) to allow Turkcell to run its first Open RAN trial in Turkey and convert its RAN infrastructure to a more valuable digitalized and virtualized architecture supporting the roll-out of 4G/5G networks.
Engineered with multi-radio access technology (“multi-RAT”) and multi-band support, Comba Network's RRU enables 4G/5G simultaneously in a single unit, which will support network technology transformation in the coming years. Compliant with the O-RAN Alliance 7.2x functional split, the RRU provides open C/U/S-plane and M-plane interfaces to the baseband unit (“BBU”) and the operation and management (“OAM”) system via the industry-standard eCPRI interfaces. High power efficiency and innovative mechanical design greatly reduce energy consumption, footprint and weight, hence cutting the Operating Expenses (“ OPEX”).
Ms. Marie Ma, General Manager of Comba Telecom Network Systems Limited, said, “Comba Network has developed a solid partnership with Turkcell, providing complete wireless solutions for over a decade. We have constantly innovated products suited to local requirements. This is made possible due to the continued technical feedback and support from Turkcell. We believe this partnership will forge closer ties and cooperation in network architecture evolution.”
Ms. Ma added, “Comba Network takes an active role in the Open RAN ecosystem. We are currently the contributor of O-RAN Alliance and a member of Telecom Infra Project’s ("TIP") OpenRAN project group, actively participating in Open RAN projects. Comba Network will continue to expand our participation in the Open RAN arena, extend the strategic partnership and collaboration with industry stakeholders, help boost the growth and development of the open platform ecosystem, and support Open RAN innovators like Turkcell to propel radio technologies.”
Dr. Gediz Sezgin, Chief Technology Officer of Turkcell, said, “Turkcell is a pioneer in digital transformation and as part of this motivation, most of our mobile core network has been virtualized on Turkcell Telco Cloud Platform. We are fully convinced with the advantages of virtualization and believe that open Radio Access Network interfaces will accelerate innovation in the 5G era. We are excited to partner with Comba and will continue to lead this journey towards fully virtualized next-generation mobile networks thanks to our broad expertise in RAN technologies and network virtualization.”