Mavenir created a new business unit focused on developing reference designs for open RAN radio hardware and software, a move intended to accelerate expansion of the broader vendor ecosystem.

Company executive Mikael Rylander was named SVP and GM of the Radio Business Unit, targeting creation of remote radio unit (RRU) designs which can be customised by vendors to meet the needs of specific markets.

Pardeep Kohli, Mavenir CEO, told Mobile World Live it realised it “cannot invest to build all the radios that are needed in the world on our own”, highlighting the wide variety of spectrum bands used globally.

Designing RRUs will ensure the sector has “more radios available sooner”, he explained, adding it is already working on several designs with the goal to deliver three in H1 2021 and another three in H2.

Kohli noted it expects the new radio unit to generate revenue through “royalty fees, revenue share or design buyout”.

Mavenir also appointed former Qualcomm executive Puneet Sethi as SVP and GM of its RAN Business Unit, tasked with developing centralised and distributed unit (CU and DU) network software.

Sethi spent 14 years at Qualcomm, most recently as a senior director of product management covering baseband system-on-chip, RF, and software for RAN and small cells.