Parallel Wireless, Türk Telekom and Juniper Networks Announce Collaboration
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency awarded a grant to TT Mobil İletişim Hizmetleri A.Ş. (TT Mobil) to launch an open radio access network (Open RAN) pilot project. TT Mobil serves as one of Türkiye’s three licensed mobile operators and is a direct subsidiary of Türk Telekom, Türkiye’s largest telecommunications operator. The goal of this project is to accelerate the next-generation mobile network transformation of TT Mobil and diversify its supplier relationships. TT Mobil selected New Hampshire-based Parallel Wireless, Inc. to carry out the pilot project.
“U.S. companies have been at the center of Open RAN innovation. USTDA is collaborating across the U.S. government to deploy these technologies in USTDA partner countries around the globe, such as Türkiye,” said Enoh T. Ebong, USTDA’s Director. “Open RAN offers a more diverse and innovative mobile ecosystem, which will allow for greater supply chain resilience as well as more secure and reliable networks. This will ultimately be of benefit to the consumer.”
The USTDA-funded pilot will enable TT Mobil to pilot Open RAN technologies capable of supporting multiple generations of mobile operations, from 2G to 5G. The pilot will include a lab trial for 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G Open RAN solutions and a site trial of Open RAN technology at Türk Telekom field sites. The pilot will provide Türk Telekom with a validated assessment of Open RAN technologies from the United States in advance of its 5G rollout.
“As part of our improvement, testing, and productization efforts on Open RAN, we have agreed with Parallel Wireless and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to test the Open RAN solution in pilot areas,” said Yusuf Kıraç, Türk Telekom’s Chief Technology Officer. “We will continue to produce and develop technology that will play an active role in determining 5G standards with our global collaborations.”
U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye, Jeffry L. Flake, said: “U.S. Mission Türkiye is pleased to collaborate with USTDA in support of Türk Telekom’s open radio access network, or O-RAN, study with U.S. company Parallel Wireless. I am hopeful that this partnership will open new opportunities for increased collaboration between U.S. companies and one of Türkiye’s largest telecommunications companies.”
Parallel Wireless CEO Steve Papa said: “Parallel Wireless is proud to partner with Türk Telekom and USTDA and demonstrate how our leading-edge, next-generation Open RAN software platform can enable broadband communications and new state-of-the-art digital applications in Türkiye. We are confident that our software platform will help Türk Telekom reduce operational costs and site footprints and look forward to setting the stage for additional deployments of Open RAN throughout their network.”
USTDA’s assistance advances one of the key pillars of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, to develop, expand, and deploy secure information and communications technology networks and infrastructure to power economic growth and facilitate open digital societies. This project also aligns with USTDA’s ongoing work in the ICT sector in Türkiye through the U.S.-Türkiye Next Generations Cities Initiative.