NEC CORPORATION
“ In this time , we ’ ve really emerged as a global vendor , with very mature products and solutions ”
PATRICK LOPEZ GLOBAL VP PRODUCT MANAGEMENT , 5G , NEC CORPORATION
“ Part of the NEC Open Networks ’ strategy is developing an ecosystem of partners , and MTI is a perfect illustration of what a great partnership can be . They bring innovation , they bring mature product capabilities , and we ' ve been able to introduce them to a number of our customers and work together hand-in-hand , co-creating solutions and products that meet customers ’ expectations .”
Running in parallel to telecoms ’ evolution Interestingly , although NEC has long asserted itself as a telecoms ’ leader in Japan , it has only been in the last few years that it has emerged on the international stage .
“ What was a hidden gem and a little secret in Japan is becoming more and more known amongst the people who want to create innovative networks , who want to change the way those networks are architected , the cost structure of those networks , and want to introduce more innovation in their networks . More and more , they ' re reaching out to NEC to help them on that journey ,” says Lopez . “ We were not really thought of as a member of the global wireless community . And these deals that we ' re now working on , predominantly in Europe , are attracting a lot of attention ,” asserts Cohen .
Cohen outlines how , although many of the operators in the world have expressed their interest in Open RAN , they are still hesitant to launch any immediate plans for deployment . So the deployments that have been initiated are being watched very closely .
“ In particular , our work with Telefonica – a project in which we are the prime integrator – is going to be deployed on multiple continents and in half a dozen countries ,” Cohen explains .
“ At least one major global operator has already indicated that they are watching Telefonica to see it work and to validate whether Open RAN is indeed something that can be deployed at scale . We are the ones who will have all eyes on us , and we relish that opportunity , because it ' s a great way for us to demonstrate our abilities and to show that deploying an Open RAN network with multiple vendors using disaggregated solutions is the way of the future .”