Grameenphone partnered with Rakuten Symphony to launch a pilot open RAN deployment in Bangladesh, aiming to modernise the country’s mobile infrastructure and prepare for future 5G rollouts.

The pilot will utilise both 4G and NSA (non-Standalone) 5G sites and will pave the way for a potential nationwide open RAN rollout. According to the operators, the move will position Grameenphone, which has over 86 million subscribers, as one of the first operators in South Asia to implement the technology.

Under the agreement, Rakuten Symphony will supply its open RAN hardware and software, including Centralised Units (CUs), Distributed Units (DUs), 4G/5G radio units and OSS solutions. It will also work with partners to support deployment and bring in technical expertise throughout the pilot.

Sharad Sriwastawa, president of Rakuten Symphony, said the company is “committed to supporting Grameenphone to fully realise the advantages of open RAN, including greater operational flexibility, optimised network capabilities, and accelerated network innovation”.

Meanwhile, Jai Prakash, CTO at Grameenphone, stated the pilot “marks a significant step in our journey toward building a more agile, efficient, and future-ready network infrastructure”. He noted that “by embracing open RAN, we aim to unlock new possibilities for innovation and deliver enhanced connectivity experiences to our millions of subscribers”.

Rakuten Symphony noted that the project builds on its ongoing R&D work with Rakuten Mobile in Japan to develop modernised networks, accelerate open RAN adoption and diversify the vendor ecosystem.

The announcement comes shortly after Rakuten Symphony recently tied up with Tejas Networks to deliver integrated open RAN solutions for India and international markets.