NEC bets on Open RAN 5G with the purchase of Aspire Technology

Aspire Technology one in the family of NEC to enhance the range of NEC Open Networks solutions and thus gain experience in designing 5G Open RAN ecosystems.

Aspire Technology, based in Dublin, Ireland, is a firm specialized in technological solutions and integration of specialized systems (SI) with extensive experience in the design and integration of open networks, a critical need in the drive toward successful global adoption of Open RAN 5G. Aspire Technology provides solutions and services throughout the entire network life cycle for legacy and open architectures, from 2G to 5G, and will continue to use its knowledge and experience in the growing environment of open networks and open RAN. The acquisition is expected to be completed in July 2022, after confirmation of the necessary procedures and approvals for each organization.

The NEC Open Networks ecosystem consists of a comprehensive set of open products and solutions, including components Open RAN for disaggregated hardware and software, xHaul transportation, converged core, automation/orchestration software and SI services. The addition of Aspire Technology strengthens NEC's SI offering for Open RAN 5G applications, which require a higher level of system design and integration compared to legacy ecosystems. Today, Aspire Technology works with leading operators, suppliers and other IS companies in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Naohisa Matsuda, CEO of NEC 5G Strategy and Business, highlights the firm's latest acquisition: "Aspire Technology's strong capabilities and talented engineers, combined with its portfolio of technology solutions and applications, are a major step forward for our NEC Open Networks strategy. NEC is now better prepared than any other vendor to integrate disaggregated network components into a well-tuned ecosystem."

For its part, Bill Walsh, founder and CEO of Aspire Technology, considera que este era el paso adecuado para su compañía: “Creemos que la combinación de NEC y Aspire Technology proporcionará enormes beneficios a nuestros clientes, tanto a los basados en redes heredadas como a los que evolucionan al entorno más Open, y también al mercado más amplio de 5G y Open RAN, que está creciendo rápidamente. Compartimos una visión común del mercado 5G y Open RAN, y un historial de entrega de complejos proyectos de integración con algunos de los mayores operadores del mundo. Juntos, creamos una cartera de soluciones 5G atractiva y completa”.