Vodafone is deploying disaggregated cell site gateway (DCSG) routers to boost the flexibility and scalability of its 5G network infrastructure. The move follows broader 5G network upgrades being performed by the European-based telecom giant.

The DCSG routers include hardware and software that can be provided by different vendors. In this instance, Vodafone is using hardware from Edgecore Networks, which is a division of Taiwan’s Accton Technology, and software from German-based networking firm ADVA.

The DCSG model is comprised of a white-box cell site gateway based on open and disaggregated architecture for 3G, 4G, and 5G networks. This design replaces legacy models that were typically monolithic in nature and provided by a single vendor.

“The dynamic and growing nature of internet traffic continually tests the capacity limits of cell sites everywhere,” Santiago Tenorio, director of Vodafone Network Architecture, explained in a statement. “By opening the door to greater vendor diversity and network automation, we can stay ahead of the curve and bring new mobile sites online more quickly and cheaply.”

The routers are based on open architectures and standard APIs and link cell sites to a network core. They can also be used to transport traffic across mobile backhaul fiber links and support dedicated enterprise connections at speeds up to 100 Gb/s.

Vodafone is installing the routers initially on its network in Turkey. The carrier conducted initial trials in that country earlier this year, and has been running long-term DCSG trials in Romania and South Africa over the past several years.

This deployment will also be running in support of Vodafone’s growing open radio access network (RAN) efforts. The carrier recently ramped those efforts designed to boost its 5G network deployment. This included signing a handful of agreements with other operators to share testing resources, with vendors to solidify equipment supplies, and targets plans to launch a network trial in Germany early next year.

Vodafone’s efforts are also based on long-term work conducted through the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) industry group. That work witnessed an initial deployment by Telefónica in late 2019 using equipment from Infinera and Edgecore, with Vodafone and KDDI taking up the program’s leadership mantle in early 2020.

The DCSG initiative is similar to AT&T’s Disaggregated Network Operating System (DANOS) that it contributed to the Linux Foundation in late 2019. DANOS was the open source version of AT&T’s Vyatta code that it acquired from Brocade in mid-2017, which AT&T eventually flipped to Ciena. It’s an operating system for individual white boxes that make up a network, including support for AT&T’s growing 5G network.