IBM and Airspan Networks teamed to provide open RAN 5G testing to European operators. The companies plan to update a pair of current sites in Germany and France to cover multi-vendor integration.
The plans involve providing a 5G core network at IBM’s Global Industry Solution Center (GISC) in Nice. Two companies explained in a statement that the goal is to use open RAN to conduct long-distance trials of technologies which will enable private 5G, including edge computing and network slicing.
Airspan Networks will provide the indoor radio units, and open RAN Centralised Unit and Distributed Unit. It is also supplying 5G-connected customer premise equipment to operators seeking to test use cases. The 5G open RAN collaboration builds on previous technology testing initiatives in Europe by both companies.
IBM announced an Open RAN Centre of Excellence in Spain in 2020, and Airspan Networks opened a 5G Innovation Lab in the UK in May. The move expands on recent IBM operator deals in the US, including constructing a hybrid cloud-platform to underpin Verizon’s core 5G network and a deal with Dish Network.
We spoke with Adrian Ježina, President of the Management Board and CEO of Telemach Croatia, about strategic decisions, investments, and how he sees the telecom industry evolving in the years ahead.
Croatia’s fixed broadband market in 2025 was marked by intense competition among operators, visible technological progress, and a gradual shift toward very high-capacity networks, primarily FTTH infrastructure. This is clearly confirmed by the “Barometer of Fixed Internet Connections in Croatia,” published by nPerf in January 2026, covering measurement results from 1 January to 31 December 2025.
Eutelsat ordered another set of OneWeb low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites from Airbus Defence and Space.
