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Hybrid Cloud: the evolution path to a more flexible and scalable Cloud RAN architecture

The Orange booth at the Mobile World Congress 2025

Wednesday 5th of March 2025

Reading time: 4 min

• Cloud RAN technology is reshaping the way operators may deploy the Radio Access Network for 5G and beyond.
• As part of the overall Open RAN concept, Cloud RAN refers to the virtualisation of RAN (Radio Access Network) functions on commoditised hardware.
• Orange, AWS and Nokia are starting a collaboration to explore the potential of Hybrid Cloud architecture, combining on-premises and cloud-based resources.
• This novel architecture expands the range of options for operators to maximise performance, scalability and energy efficiency depending on deployment scenarios.

Open RAN is gaining traction, with large-scale operational deployments on the horizon. Orange took an active role in building this momentum and gained confidence in the maturity of the technology through multiple vendor evaluations, including Nokia’s latest virtualised 5G RAN solution and AWS (Amazon Web Services) cloud solution based on a combination of AWS public cloud and EKS-A infrastructure deployed on the operator’s premises.

The hybrid cloud architecture, combining on-premises and cloud-based resources, expands the range of options for operator deployment.

Innovation through collaboration

As announced at MWC 2025, Orange will evaluate Nokia’s Cloud RAN technology operated on a infrastructure from AWS in an innovation zone – a sandbox environment. Laurent Leboucher, Group CTO and EVP Networks at Orange, explains: “This joint initiative aims to explore the potential of Cloud RAN integrated over a hybrid cloud architecture, powered by the Graviton chipset, which is a testimony of the progress made on portability and vendor diversification, enhancing flexibility in network deployment options for Orange. We are now collaborating on a lab trial with Nokia and AWS to showcase the performance, energy efficiency and automation benefits of the solution, which will serve as a cornerstone to feed into Orange Cloud RAN deployment strategy.” This lab will facilitate rapid proof-of-concept testing, allowing the operator to evaluate various deployment scenarios and define the most relevant ones.

The main technical components of the innovation zone are based on the latest innovations from both vendors:

Edge Infrastructure: AWS will provide its edge infrastructure based on the newly announced AWS Outposts powered by Graviton3, interconnected through a cloud continuum with AWS-hosted Regions, enabling Orange to validate workloads across different locations based on latency and real-time requirements while leveraging the same cloud software, services, tools and API.
Nokia’s anyRAN Solution: The vendor will integrate its SmartNIC card, embedding Nokia’s RAN Layer1 acceleration, with AWS infrastructure, to optimize network workloads and support Cloud RAN functionalities (vCU and vDU). This architecture allows “day-1 operation” features and performance parity with traditional RAN.

“This collaboration is a commitment of companies with unique experiences coming together to help transform Radio Access Networks (RAN) to ensure the evolution of 5G networks and beyond,” states Jan Hofmeyr, VP EC2 Networking and Edge at AWS, pointing out the advantages of such a combination of technologies: “By combining our cloud expertise with Nokia’s radio technology prowess and Orange’s operational experience, we’re setting new standards for software disaggregation, network performance, flexibility, and innovation.”

With Cloud RAN, mobile networks gain in flexibility and automation

Cloud RAN opens the door to innovative ways for operator deployments, providing greater flexibility to Orange to better adapt its network architecture based on use cases and business opportunities, including:

Disaggregation: By breaking down traditional monolithic RAN components into modular, software driven, virtualized elements, including the RAN elements of virtual Central Unit (vCU), virtual Distributed Unit (vDU) running on cloud infrastructure. Disaggregation increases vendor diversity, allowing portability of virtualized RAN software on various hardware and cloud infrastructure, boosting vendor competitiveness and innovation.
Centralization of Radio Functions: By consolidating previously distributed functions, enhancing efficiency through resource pooling and virtualization.
Shift Toward Edge Computing: By unlocking new enterprise use cases by bringing compute power closer to the user.
Hybrid Cloud Integration: By combining on-premises edge infrastructure and AWS cloud resources with a cloud continuum that offers the same operational experience through the same software, services, tools and API to provide for greater flexibility and scalability.

Aji Ed, VP Head of Cloud RAN at Nokia, added, “This initiative showcases Nokia’s anyRAN approach, providing Orange the flexibility to choose best in class platform, in a configuration suiting their needs, without any compromise on performances. And helping Orange to elevate to the next level of network automation and thanks to the combination of Nokia’s best-in-class RAN solutions and AWS cloud technology.”

Key Focus Areas of the joint innovation zone

This initiative marks a major step towards developing software-driven, hybrid network architectures to support next-generation networks, and focuses on:

Hybrid Cloud Network Feasibility: Exploring a software-based hybrid network spanning AWS on-premises infrastructure powered by AWS Outposts and AWS-hosted cloud environments to address latency, networking, and scalability demands.
Cloud RAN Openness: Nokia will showcase its Cloud RAN solution on AWS, highlighting its commitment to openness as part of the AnyRAN approach. This initiative gives Orange the flexibility to deploy Cloud RAN seamlessly across its network.
Use Case Exploration: Investigating Cloud RAN applications for macro networks, enterprise solutions, and neutral hosts—key areas for Orange’s business growth.
Silicon Performance Evaluation: Assessing the performance, power efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of AWS Outposts powered by ARM-based Graviton3 processors, combined with Nokia’s L1 acceleration for Cloud RAN workloads.
AI/ML for RAN Optimization: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to enhance RAN performance while ensuring strict latency, scalability, security, and privacy requirements.
Automation: All three companies will combine their software and services to enable the next level of automation for Radio networks. Using AWS Telco Network Builder (TNB) to automate the deployment and lifecycle management (Day-0, Day-1, and Day-2 operations) of AWS infrastructure for Nokia Cloud RAN combined with Nokia MantaRay Network Management to fully automate the cloud RAN function deployment and manage their life cycle: create, delete, scale in/out.
Security and Compliance: Implementing Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), Identity Access Management (IAM), and encryption to ensure secure communication, access control, and data protection across the hybrid cloud infrastructure.