STL and Analog Devices to build Open RAN 5G radio units

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STL, a digital networks integrator, is working with Analog Devices to develop 5G Open RAN radio units (O-RU).

Speaking at this week’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the two companies said they will build 5G-ready solutions to expand the diversity of commercially available O-RUs and facilitate the growth of Open RAN networks.

As a part of this collaboration, STL and Analog Devices will work with other ecosystem providers, including leading power amplifier (PA) vendors, to expand the range of STL's Garuda O-RU indoor small cell offerings. STL will integrate Analog Devices’ RadioVerse transceivers into Garuda to create power-efficient, high-performance radios.

“STL has developed a set of open, disaggregated, virtualized and programmable products and solutions for the access side of the network,” said Chris Rice, CEO, Access Solutions Business, STL. “Garuda is a next-generation radio product with open interfaces compliant to O-RAN standards. It is cost-effective and a key component in solutions that deliver Industry 4.0 use cases, such as worker safety and factory automation.  Leveraging Analog Devices’ RadioVerse offerings in our products creates a new industry benchmark for indoor small cell radios, enabling the full power of 5G technology to enhance billions of lives worldwide.”

As operators begin rolling out their Open RAN networks, there is growing demand for regionally customised O-RUs to meet frequency band and power needs. The O-RU is one part of the network that cannot be virtualized, and with expanding requirements for the commercial-ready frequency band and power options, existing indoor radio options limit network operators’ choices.  STL’s Garuda radio product line will look to expand the availability of O-RU devices across global markets.

“Building on the success of the Garuda project, we look forward to expanding the collaboration with STL and providing the Open RAN ecosystem with high-performance O-RUs.” said Nitin Sharma, General Manager of the Wireless Systems Group at Analog Devices.