Rapid.Space provides:

1. end-to-end alternative to Huawei/ZTE/Ericsson/Nokia for mobile network operators (MNO);
2. all-in-one solution for private 4G/5G network;
3. edge infrastructure;
4. cloud infrastructure;
5. 3C network infrastructure.

Rapid.Space products consist of:

1. D-RAN BBU (EdgePOD BBU)
2. D-RAN RU designed by partners (Prose, NTS, Comba, Comleap)
3. All-in-one RU (ORS, ORS Duo, ORS Brute)
4. Edge cloud server (EdgePOD)
5. NMS/OSS/BSS (SlapOS)

Rapid.Space is:

1. advanced (vRAN, edge, cloud, AI, OT, 3C networking, NTN, 3GPP Release 19);
2. simpler (plug-and play);
3. cheaper (same price for hardware, lower price for software);
4. open source (most software, most hardware, all processes);
5. sovereign (full technology transfer, local manufacturing, customisation, white label).

What makes Rapid.Space unique:

1. vRAN that can match or outperform Huawei/ZTE/Ericsson/Nokia thanks to native support of 3C networking (edge, cloud, AI, OT)
2. all-in-one solution (RU + BBU + Core + Edge + AI + OT) for private networks, rural networks or indoor in less than 2.4kg
3. total solution for sovereign edge cloud infrastructure at reasonable cost and in less than two months

Hardware price

Rapid.Space hardware price is same or lower than competition for the same volume. All hardware support 3GPP Release 19.

Software price

All software of Rapid.Space is open source except Amarisoft. There is no license to pay for open source.

Pricing  for open source combines a yearly fee for the NMS/OSS as such and a yearly fee for each node attached to it. A node is defined as a BBU, as an all-in-one system or as an edge cloud server. RUs are not nodes. The price therefore does not depend on the number of RUs. 

The total price can be calculated as:

A + B x N.

For example, operational support for a private network of 500 nodes will cost:

20,000 + 500 x 400 = 220,000 € per year

For example, operational support  for a public network of 10,000 nodes will cost:

200,000 + 10,000 x 100 = 1,200,000 € per year

Total price

In order to calculate the total price of Rapid.Space infrastructure, Amarisoft license must be added to the price of RAN hardware and RAN software. It increases the cost of hardware and software by around 5% to 20%.

If BSS is needed, customisation cost must be added: 50,000€‒2,000,000€ for initial configuration/customisation and 10,000€ to 400,000€ per year for the maintenance of the configuration/customisation. The cost of BSS depends on the complexity of the business or charging rules. The simpler, the cheaper.

How to start?

For public networks

Acquire one or two Amarisoft Callbox to perform interoperability tests in the lab. This will provide a good understanding of Amarisoft eNB/gNB, and also ensure that it is compatible with existing core network or BBUs from other vendors.

Acquire a couple of ORS and deploy them either indoor (high frequency TDD/FDD band) or in a rural area (low frequency FDD band), as a pilot. This will provide good understanding of the applicability of Rapid.Space in low density areas: range, connected UEs, active UEs, RAN performance, NMS automation, total cost, etc. In rural areas, you may consider combining ORS with Starlink.

Acquire two or three macro-stations (BBU + RU) and deploy them as a D-RAN or C-RAN pilot. This will provide good understanding of the applicability of Rapid.Space in high density areas: range, connected UEs, active UEs, RAN performance, NMS automation, handover, total cost, etc. It will also initiate price discussion with RU vendors and other stakeholders. This price discussion can either lead to consider mass deployment of Rapid.Space, or to obtain price cuts from traditional vendors.

For private networks

Acquire between one and three ORS in TDD band (eg. 38, 39, 40, 41, 77, 78, 79) and deploy them in factories, mines, government buildings, train stations, oil, gas, electricity, utilities, etc. You may also consider FDD bands (eg. 28) deployed in farms for agriculture or deployed in public infrastructure for utilities.

This will provide good understanding of private network business models, either as a completely independent network or with various configurations of RAN sharing in which the private network CAPEX is paid by the the user (eg. factory, mining, utility) in exchange of "free" coverage extension for the MNO which provides the spectrum.

It will also provide good understanding of 3C networks, that is the combination of vRAN, edge, cloud AI and OT on the same infrastructure. This can be the base of a future distributed edge cloud infrastructure provided by a mobile network operator to clients in search of a resilient alternative to hyperscalers from US (eg. AWS) or China (eg. Alicloud).

5G SA or NSA?

We recommend 5G SA and DSS since it solves the "fried egg problem" of 5G NSA coverage. Rather than implementing NSA (LTE on low-frequency band + NR on high frequency band), we suggest implementing DSS (LTE+NR) on the low-frequency FDD band and NR on the higher-frequency TDD bands. Additional high-frequency NR base stations can be added here and there to densify coverage. LTE smartphones will benefit from "low speed" coverage everywhere whereas NR smartphones will benefit from high-speed NR in all ares that are close enough to an NR base station.

This kind of topology can be prototyped quite easily with Rapid.Space without having to invest in an expensive core network upfront.

What next?

Based on pilot results, massive deployment can be considered for the most relevant use cases. Local manufacturing can be considered from that stage if it brings economic benefits.

Further reading

You may want to read:

• HowTo Adopt Rapid.Space for public RAN
• What are the key success factors in any vRAN operator project
• Scaling vRAN: a step-by-step guide