DKK Co., Ltd. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President: Tadatoshi Kondo) have recently started delivery of 5G radio unit for NTT DOCOMO, INC. for its 5G commercial services.
- Features of the equipment
The radio unit developed by DKK for the commercial 5G service of NTT DOCOMO for 3.4GHz-band macrocells (*1) is compliant to the O-RAN fronthaul interface specification (*2). Main features of the equipment are compact, lightweight, and low-power-consumption. It is installed with the base station antenna and connected with the base station controller through optical fiber using the O-RAN fronthaul interface specifications. This allows DKK’s radio unit to be connected with the base station controllers from different vendors that comply with the O-RAN fronthaul specification, and enables flexible network configuration not restricted to a specific vendor.
- Outlook for the future
DKK has mainly supplied base station antennas to NTT DOCOMO, so this is DKK’s first shipment of radio unit to NTT DOCOMO.
We recognize that this delivery is the first step in the radio unit market towards full-scale entry into the wireless equipment market with outcomes of research and development at the DKK Wireless R&D Center established in 2019. We will continue to develop radio equipment that meets diverse needs leveraging our antenna expertise cultivated over many years, and will work to contribute to NTT DOCOMO’s 5G services.
- Comments from Mr. Masafumi Masuda, Vice President and General Manager, Radio Access Network Development Dept., NTT DOCOMO, INC.
NTT DOCOMO is promoting the introduction of multi-vendor-compliant radio units using the O-RAN specifications for the enhancement of 5G. By installing radio units supporting Open Fronthaul developed by DKK, NTT DOCOMO can now expand the 5G area more flexibly. We look forward to the further expansion of the O-RAN ecosystem through this initiative.
*1 cell : Communication area supported by one base station.
macrocells : Cells forming a large communication area.
*2 O-RAN fronthaul specifications : A fronthaul interface specifications developed by the O-RAN Alliance.
DKK is participating in the O-RAN Alliance since 2019.