NVIDIA joins hands with NTT DOCOMO to create the world’s first GPU-accelerated 5G network

NTT DOCOMO has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA within the confines of Japan’s internet services. Through GPU acceleration and software-defined enhancements, the efficiency of their 5G network operations is set to improve. This initiative also aims to amplify the flexibility and scalability of Open RAN while concurrently minimizing operational costs and enhancing power efficiency.

The solution employs Fujitsu’s utilization of the NVIDIA Aerial virtual Radio Access Network stack (NVIDIA Aerial vRAN stack). Combined with NVIDIA’s integrated accelerators, this forms an efficacious 5G virtual Radio Access Network (vRAN), facilitating a network architecture wholly governed by software and cloud definitions, thus hastening the intricate scheduling of telecommunication network connections.

Furthermore, NTT DOCOMO has distinguished itself as the inaugural adopter of the NVIDIA Aerial platform for commercial deployment by a 5G virtual Radio Access Network provider. In comparison to extant deployment strategies, NTT DOCOMO asserts that the NVIDIA Aerial platform can reduce total costs by up to 30%. This will also result in a network occupancy rate reduction of 50% and a 50% decrease in base station power consumption.

Fujitsu, NVIDIA, and Wind River persist in their collaboration under the aegis of the 5G Open RAN Experience (OREX) service brand, which NTT DOCOMO introduced in February 2021. Their united efforts are centered around developing 5G virtual Radio Access Networks that align with Open RAN standards. The collective vision for the foreseeable future entails partnering with an even broader array of global entities, thereby championing efficient, energy-conservative, and software-defined commercial 5G virtual Radio Access Networks.