Mavenir today announced it has acquired ip.access to add 2G and 3G capabilities to its open radio access network (RAN) portfolio and boost its small cells offering. 

U.K.-based ip.access, which was founded in 1997, develops and manufactures small cells for cellular technologies dating back to the GSM standard for 2G service. Those older technologies, particularly 2G and 3G, might generate less pizzazz as operators push for open RAN, but it’s an area of heightened interest for smaller or less advanced operators that want to reduce costs and complexities associated with traditional RAN equipment.

“Operators are looking to transform their 2G/3G networks as they migrate to 4G and 5G,” Mavenir CEO Pardeep Kohli said in a statement. “We expect to provide a seamless, multi radio access technology single RAN offering for those operators that allows them to have the benefits of advanced radio solutions across all layers.”

Parallel Wireless, one of Mavenir’s strongest competitors in the open RAN market, previously claimed to be the only open RAN vendor with 2G and 3G capabilities. CEO Steve Papa recently told SDxCentral that most of the early action on open RAN is anchored to 2G and 3G. 

“Many subscribers in many networks and geographies need GSM and 3G service with LTE even as 5G is introduced,” ip.access CEO Richard Staveley said in a statement.

Mavenir said the acquisition will also equip it with a more comprehensive suite for private enterprise networks and bolster its capabilities in specialized industries, including aviation and maritime, and more diverse offerings for rural and remote mobile network operators. 

“Combining our assets enhances our end-to-end network proposition, provides a multi-G single RAN evolution path for carriers, and creates a market leading proposition for the private networks enterprise market,” Aniruddho Basu, SVP and GM of emerging business at Mavenir, said in a statement.

Mavenir said ip.access, which has deployed its equipment and technology in more than 50 live networks to date, will join the company as a business unit within its emerging business group.

Despite the benefits proclaimed by Mavenir, it’s unclear how ip.access’ hardware fits into the open RAN vision, which calls for the disaggregation of network software and hardware running on commoditized equipment. A Mavenir or ip.access branded small cell doesn’t fit neatly into that framework, but it could expand Mavenir’s proposition for enterprises that are seeking less expensive gear for private networks.

The companies did not disclose financial terms of the deal.