Qualcomm boosted its 5G open radio access network (O-RAN) game, acquiring Israel-based Cellwize Wireless Technologies in a move that positions the chip giant further outside its legacy silicon heritage.

Durga Malladi, SVP and GM for cellular modems and infrastructure at Qualcomm, explained in a briefing that Qualcomm has been working with Cellwize to provide service management and orchestration, and that the deal builds out Qualcomm’s plans in the 5G ecosystem.

“It really starts putting together all the pieces of the puzzle to fuel the overall digital transformation of the industries powering what we have been calling the connected intelligent edge and overall support the expansion of the cloud economy,” Malladi said.

Cellwize is focused on self-optimized network (SON) technology that automates the instantiation and management of RAN elements, especially at the network edge. This includes O-RAN, virtualized RAN (vRAN), and traditional RAN. This is becoming increasing important as 5G network deployments begin to rely on dispersed cloud-native and multi-vendor RAN elements.

Cellwize’s automation capabilities have garnered interest from vendors and operators. Hewlett Packard Enterperise (HPE) and Verizon provided supporting comments on the deal, with both noting it will integrate work they have ongoing with both vendors. It also struck a deal late last year with VMware to integrate into that vendor’s RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) package.

Malladi said Cellwize complements Qualcomm’s work in the 5G RAN space, citing specifically the launch of its 5G DU (distributed unit) X100 accelerator card last year, and more recently its radio unit (RU) work. He also tied the deal to Qualcomm’s private 5G network work it announced at this year’s Mobile World Congress event.

Qualcomm has used that platform to score a handful of RAN deals with vendors, such as Fujitsu, HPE, Rakuten Symphony, and Mavenir.

Within Qualcomm, the Cellwize platform will sit as an orchestration layer on top of what Qualcomm is already providing. Malladi said this is a horizontal expansion that will allow Qualcomm’s base to have more reach in communicating with physical systems from traditional hardware vendors.

“That’s the whole principle of O-RAN,” Malladi explained. “This orchestration layer on top, which we feel is very much needed to drive the overall multi-vendor environment that we expect to see increasingly in the future, we see that as an important piece of the puzzle.”

Dimitris Mavrakis, research director at ABI Research, noted that the Cellwize deal will help Qualcomm better realize its RAN plans.

"This acquisition is key for Qualcomm as it complements the company’s offering in the RAN infrastructure and will help Qualcomm accelerate its strategic plan to become a key partner for operators in migrating their network from legacy systems to a true open RAN environment," Mavrakis wrote in a note.

As for integration, Cellwize CEO Ofir Zemer was named VP of product management at Qualcomm. Malladi said the company was not yet commenting on its plans for the rest of Cellwize’s executive and employee base.

Malladi also said that Qualcomm would continue to support Cellwize’s current customer agreements and association commitments.

Analysts on the briefing call did raise some integration concerns, noting a past effort by Cisco when it acquired Israel-based SON provider Intucell for $475 million in 2013. It eventually sold that division to India multinational HCL Technologies for a reported $50 million in 2020.

Malladi pointed to Qualcomm’s history of integrating small, Israeli-based companies, specifically mentioning its purchase of system-on-chip (SoC) provider DesignArt Networks in 2012.