Texas-based network software company Mavenir is working with communications infrastructure provider BAI Communications to create a smart city in the UK city of Sunderland.

Mavenir says it is building the future of networks with cloud-native software that runs on any cloud and transforms the way the world connects. The smart city project for Sunderland City Council is powered by Mavenir’s MavEdge suite.

BAI will build a 5G centric network to accelerate adoption of transformative digital services for sectors including manufacturing, logistics, education and social care. The initial scope is for the deployment of a city-centre 5G private network that has the potential to evolve and become a neutral host network.

Neutral host models provide coverage and connectivity for smart city initiatives. They enable local councils and authorities to provide smart services and run numerous smart community applications in a more viable and cost-effective manner.

MavEdge comprises Mavenir’s Open vRAN and 5G packet core offerings to drive the digital transformation of this project, and to provide 5G mobile connectivity to the local Sunderland community. MavEdge enables secure private networks to be distributed at the edge and powers a digital marketplace of applications and devices to create an efficient environment for diverse use cases for the enterprise and industry.

The 5G Open vRAN and 5G packet core are designed with cloud-native virtualisation techniques providing a scalable and virtualised network architecture with open-standard interfaces. The Open RAN platform provides BAI with the option of deploying radio units from different vendors. It uses software running on commercial off-the-shelf hardware that provides flexibility and agility while delivering one architecture as a baseline for many use cases.

“Open RAN is cost-effective and based on open interfaces and will give us the ability to deploy in a very agile and flexible way,” said Brendan O’Reilly, group chief technology officer at BAI. “We are delighted to work with Mavenir, a technology innovator company in cloud-native virtualised solutions and a leading player in the Open RAN initiative and 5G core, technology we believe will help accelerate Sunderland’s ambitions to become one of the UK’s most advanced smart cities, connecting people, communities and businesses.”

The network should help accelerate transformation within various sectors in Sunderland including:

• Smart homes: addressing health and social care requirements supporting vulnerable individuals living in their own homes, providing access to assistive technologies such as sensors and other IoT enabled devices.
• Digital skills and education: providing online and remote connectivity and distance learning across primary and secondary schools within the local authority.
• Manufacturing and Industry 4.0: improving supply chain agility for the automotive industry, including applications such as self-driving vehicles and autonomous heavy goods vehicles.

“BAI Communications represents an ideal partner for this prestigious smart city project in Sunderland,” said Stefano Cantarelli, chief marketing officer at Mavenir. “Together we will be able to build new RAN and packet core domains, that will deliver the flexibility needed for a diverse set of cross-sector use cases. Virtualised solutions from Mavenir are the perfect choice of technology with Open vRAN and cloud-native packet core. The objective is to automate operations and flex the scalability in neutral hosting architecture, while delivering benefits not only to enterprises and business users, but also for the wider community.”

Liz St Louis, assistant director of smart cities at Sunderland City Council, added: “We have long recognised the importance of technology in connecting people and realising opportunities to position Sunderland as a digital frontrunner. This new partnership between BAI Communications and Mavenir presents a fully scalable network architecture to unlock innovation and shape the future of our leading smart city.”

She said that together they were harnessing the power of technology and digital transformation for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors to Sunderland. The network should accelerate the emergence of more smart services including community applications, digital upskilling opportunities and efficiency drives for manufacturing clusters across the city.

“We are creating a new digital fabric for Sunderland, upon which the city’s digital and business entrepreneurs can build a portfolio of new digital services for the benefits of residents, businesses and visitors,” said Andrew Conway, director of innovation at BAI Communications.