Infrastructure provider BAI Communications lined up Mavenir’s open RAN and 5G core technologies for a private network in a UK city which the pair predicted could be used by multiple companies.

Construction of the small cell network is one element in a 20-year strategic partnership signed between the city of Sunderland and BAI Communications in 2021.

The companies asserted Mavenir’s open interface equipment enables BAI Communications to lay the groundwork for a neutral host model which allows “local councils and authorities to provide smart services and run numerous smart community applications”.

Mavenir predicted network edge capabilities will help the city offer private sector use cases.

It stated Sunderland initially plans to employ the private 5G network to offer broadband internet to schools and community rooms.

In future, the network may support more advanced use cases including self-driving vehicles to streamline supply chain logistics for the automotive industry, the companies stated.

Mavenir stated its technology provides BAI Communications the option of deploying radios from different vendors.

BAI Communications CTO Brendan O’Reilly, stated open RAN provides it the “ability to deploy in a very agile and flexible way”. The companies explained the set up uses cloud-native software running on off-the-shelf hardware.

The infrastructure company developed a neutral host network for the New York City underground rail network through subsidiary Transit Wireless and is contracted to deliver connectivity on the London Underground which operators 3 UK and EE plan to access.