Antevia joins O-RAN Alliance to simplify private 5G

Antevia Networks has joined the O-RAN ALLIANCE, aligning the UK private 5G supplier with an industry group focused on open radio access standards.

Through the alliance, Antevia plans to contribute to specifications and standards aimed at making private 5G networks easier to deploy and manage. The company is pitching its O-RAN-based 5G Shift platform to enterprise users seeking simpler in-building cellular coverage, as well as smaller organisations that may have found private 5G too costly or complex.

Based in Reading, with research and development teams in Vancouver, Antevia develops 5G in-building systems for enterprises. It argues that demand for private 5G is expanding beyond large industrial sites to smaller venues and small and medium-sized businesses, where installation costs and integration work have often slowed adoption.

Open Approach

The O-RAN ALLIANCE brings together mobile operators, equipment suppliers, research institutions and government agencies involved in radio access networks. Its work focuses on open, interoperable approaches to RAN design, which have attracted interest from telecoms vendors looking for alternatives to more closed network systems.

Antevia's platform uses a virtualised RAN design based on O-RAN principles and runs on commercial off-the-shelf hardware. Its multiplexing and Shared Cell technology are designed to let multiple radios operate as a single 5G cell, reducing the number of handovers and lowering infrastructure requirements inside buildings.

Antevia says some deployments have required as little as one-tenth of the infrastructure needed for Wi-Fi. Lower infrastructure requirements could reduce installation complexity, one of the factors that has limited broader adoption of private cellular systems in offices, smaller sites and indoor venues.

Enterprise Focus

Private 5G networks have typically been associated with factories, ports and other large industrial environments where organisations need tight control over coverage, security and device connectivity. Suppliers are increasingly trying to adapt those systems for a wider range of enterprise settings, including buildings where companies have relied on Wi-Fi for internal connectivity.

Antevia says its product is designed to provide cellular service with deployment and management closer to enterprise Wi-Fi. The approach is aimed not only at end users but also at channel partners and systems integrators looking to serve smaller customers that have been difficult to reach with conventional private 5G offerings.

The company believes this could open the market for internet of things projects in smaller businesses and venues, where the cost and specialist requirements of cellular installations have often been prohibitive. By using open standards and standard hardware, vendors in this part of the market are seeking to reduce dependence on bespoke equipment and complex integration models.

Explaining the decision to join the industry body, Simon Cosgrove, chief executive officer of Antevia Networks, said: "The mobile industry neatly illustrates the power of industry associations, working together to design and develop standards and specifications for technology which ensures interoperability between vendors.

"The O-RAN ALLIANCE has been at the forefront of radio development, and we are delighted to have become a member and look forward to collaborating to drive innovation and adoption of 5G Private Networks."