Airto member, Digital Catapult, has launched its first SONIC Labs Technology Access Programme, collaborating with leading organisations to address energy efficiency challenges in Open RAN operations. With telecommunications networks accounting for 90% of operators’ energy use, and the Radio Access Network (RAN) representing 80% of this consumption, five teams will develop, build and implement new solutions to make the global Open RAN market more sustainable.
Delivered by Digital Catapult and supported by Ofcom, with funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), SONIC Labs is an innovation programme and R&D facility established to explore the practical viability and performance of Open RAN solutions. Open RAN enables ongoing enhancements in energy management, and by breaking down network components, SONIC Labs’ inaugural technology access programme will consider how energy usage in Open RAN operations can be optimised; championing industrial sustainability through deep tech innovation.
The new access programme launches as Open RAN is now projected to account for 20-30% of worldwide RAN revenues by 2028, and as Europe’s Open RAN revenue share is set to nearly double by 2028. Developing and deploying energy efficient Open RAN solutions will be key to supporting the global mobile telecoms sector to achieve its environmental objectives, cutting its carbon footprint whilst meeting growing demand from customers and commercial partners.
