Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) added radio access network (RAN) automation capabilities to its Open RAN Solution Stack, tapping into artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to provide zero-touch management and orchestration of multi-vendor RAN infrastructure.

The HPE RAN Automation platform orchestrates the lifecycle of virtual distributed units (vDUs) and virtual centralized units (vCUs) to allow operators to dynamically manage spectrum frequencies and radio resources across their cellular deployments. This includes cross-vendor support for operators that are tapping into multiple platforms to power their 5G networks.

The platform adheres to the O-RAN Alliance’s service management and orchestration (SMO) architecture, which maps out a way to provision, monitor, and operate all layers of a disaggregated RAN deployment. Once the network and functions are deployed, the HPE automation product supports AI and standardized interfaces to offer O-RAN compliant non-real-time RAN intelligent controller (non-RT RIC) functionality.

The O-RAN Alliance earlier this month released both SMO and non-RT RIC in its second wave of specifications.

The HPE RAN Automation platform, which is available now for early trials, is packaged as a cloud-native product and delivered as a service so that it can be used across any public or private cloud environment. However, HPE noted the product is a key part of its total solution stack and has been validated and optimized for its HPE ProLiant DL110 Gen10 Plus – Telco server.

HPE unveiled its initial 5G Core Stack in early 2020, kicking off its focus on driving cloud-native deployment and technology principles into the 5G telecommunications space. It followed that up last year with its Open RAN Solution Stack that included its orchestration and automation software, RAN infrastructure blueprints, and a server optimized for 5G workloads in an open RAN environment.

Stefano Capperi, director of service assurance and RAN automation at HPE, explained in a blog post that the new platform can help operators in managing a diverse open RAN infrastructure deployment.

“O-RAN offers a compelling vision for what you’ll be able to do with tomorrow’s RAN,” Capperi wrote. “But the reality is, RAN vendors and the broader ecosystem are still in the early stages of building support for fully open architectures. That’s why we designed HPE RAN Automation to deliver immediate, concrete benefits in deploying and managing your virtualized RAN infrastructure today – with a clear path to the future.”

That sentiment links to ongoing concern over the complexity of deploying open RAN-based network components. Vendors remain mixed on the actual network-readiness of those assets, while some analysts think the market is rapidly evolving.

Strand Consult CEO John Strand remains dubious about the near-term opportunities for open RAN because of the state of 5G deployments globally. “I just feel it’s too little, too late. We have today almost 200 5G 3GPP networks which have gone live worldwide,” he said during a recent IEEE panel. “The reality is nowadays 10,000 sites are deployed every month.”

Meanwhile, members of the open RAN community largely boast about trials as if they are commercial orders for real-world deployments, he added.

“Open RAN players will find it very difficult to sell their solutions to the classic operators,” Strand concluded.