October 4, 2023 – Today, SOLiD joined as a new radio unit (RU) partner for OREX®, NTT DOCOMO’s global Open RAN service brand. NTT DOCOMO officially confirmed SOLiD’s participation on September 27 while unveiling the new lineup of OREX services at MWC Las Vegas. OREX is DOCOMO’s Open RAN service brand, developed in collaboration with multiple global vendors.

“The O-RAN market is poised for significant growth, attracting the interest of communication equipment companies,” said Dae-Young Kim, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, SOLiD. “SOLiD achieved over 17 billion KRW in O-RAN-related sales last year, and it’s among the few companies where the O-RAN business is translating into actual revenue.”

In fact, the global O-RAN market is projected to witness substantial growth, with an estimated compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 36.9%, increasing from $1.3 billion in 2022 to $8.9 billion in 2028, according to market research and consulting firm KSI.

SOLiD has recently demonstrated remarkable achievements in the O-RAN sector, including a series of successful demonstrations at the global O-RAN proof-of-concept event organized by the international O-RAN ALLIANCE standardization organization.

The open wireless network O-RAN technology disaggregates the hardware and software of wireless communication equipment, such as base stations, enabling interoperability between base station equipment from various manufacturers. This provides telecommunications companies advantages in expanded equipment options, reducing dependency on a single equipment provider, and lowering infrastructure deployment costs. Due to these benefits, both equipment companies and mobile network operators (MNOs) are working to advance O-RAN technology.

Leveraging its established O-RAN technology expertise both domestically and internationally, SOLiD has accomplished various milestones. In addition to becoming a partner in NTT DOCOMO’s OREX, SOLiD has entered into a partnership with ASOCS, a leading provider of private 5G network software solutions, to offer O-RAN-compatible solutions. Moreover, SOLiD was exclusively selected for the mobile communication service modernization project at Signal Iduna Park, the home stadium of Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga, and is actively setting up a network in an O-RAN environment in collaboration with German Telecommunication Company 1&1 Drillisch.

“SOLiD’s selection as an OREX supplier to NTT DOCOMO is a logical progression following the recent global O-RAN Plugfest,” said Dae-Young Kim, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, SOLiD. “We are determined to maintain our strong market leadership position in the O-RAN market, which is expected to experience substantial growth in the future.”