Neutral host shared RAN ‘far ahead’ in Europe

• Neutral RAN host – for public and private use – is spreading across Europe
• A specification is already in force in the UK to enable open RAN radios to be shared by several mobile network operators in a private network
• SNS Telecom estimates that by 2027, every fifth small cell installation in high-traffic enterprises will be operated by multiple operators

Although host-neutral private radio access networks (RANs) are starting to emerge in the United States, the market in the UK and continental Europe is “well ahead”, according to network infrastructure company Boldyn.

With neutral host RAN, 4G and 5G mobile subscribers can receive a strong signal from multiple operators even when there are no public network towers nearby, rather than relying on the services of a single mobile network operator (MNO).

Host-neutral RAN systems typically use multiple small cells that enterprises deploy to share coverage from multiple operators among users in an office building or factory, or a virtualized baseband system that enables a multi-operator core network (MCON) to support multiple MNOs.

Lotta Roma Movement

“The neutral host is critical for us globally,” Andy Penley, group CTO at Boldyn, told Fierce this week. He highlighted the Roma 5G project as the largest neutral host project for Boldyn, a project that aims to prepare Rome for an influx of visitors expected for the pope’s jubilee in 2025 by refreshing its communications infrastructure.

This will include the deployment of public 4G and 5G networks in 83 metro stations, as well as public Wi-Fi and small cell networks across the city to support multiple mobile operators. “We’re doing 2,200 small cells and 1,800 IoT (Internet of Things) sensors,” Penley noted. “With DAS and small cells, everything is host neutral. We expect at least two operators to join soon, and a third by the end of next year.”

In addition to large public projects, Boldyn is also working intensively on neutral private networks in Europe.

“The UK market has created a JOTS (Joint Operator Technical Specifications) compliant platform where radios can be provisioned in an Open RAN configuration,” Boldyn’s US CTO Marc Rohleder told Fierce.

He explained that standards are set by operators, tested by Boldyn and can be implemented “at a much faster pace with a truly common brand,” something that has not yet happened in the U.S., he added.

There may be a catch, though, as Asad Khan, director of 5G research at SNS Telecom and IT, noted in an email. “In the UK, the JOTS NHIB (Neutral Host In-Building) specification made it easier for third parties to provide mobile communications services on behalf of one or more operators. However, some small cell vendors have raised concerns about the NHIB model’s preference for the MORAN (Multi-Operator) RAN approach, which, unlike MOCN, requires dedicated spectrum for each operator.”

“Neutral hosting provider Freshwave recently partnered with all four national mobile operators (EE, Three, Virgin Media O2 and Vodafone) to deploy 4G mobile connectivity in buildings using CommScope multi-carrier small cells. From a global perspective, SNS Telecom & IT estimates that by the end of 2027, up to one-fifth of all RAN node installations in carpeted enterprise environments and public spaces will be based on multi-carrier small cells,” the analyst added.

In the future, this will require a much more neutral approach from operators and suppliers.