Breadcrumb navigation

Communication

Sharing hopes that transcend time, space, and generational boundaries

Rapid globalization and ever more diverse societies have made mutual understanding essential. Meanwhile, communication methods continue to expand and evolve, including the introduction of virtual spaces, communication robots and the digitalization of the five senses. NEC is providing secure and intuitive communications infrastructure to connect people and things and share ideas across time, space, language and generations.

An example of future society : Communication

story 1 What if you could make wine with a team spread all over the world?
story 2 What if you could turn your living room into a stadium?

STORY1

What if you could make wine with a team spread all over the world?

Miku is at home, checking on her entirely remotely managed vineyard in France. The many autonomous robots spread across it are quickly but carefully harvesting the grapes.
“The harvesting is going great!” Miku tells life-size virtual representations of her team of specialists in Chile, Australia and other wine-making regions. “What are we going to do for this year’s blend?”
They take turns tasting samples, commenting on the flavors and aromas, and tossing ideas back and forth.
“You can’t go wrong with something bold and full-bodied,” someone offers.
The team also gets AI input based on analysis of the market and consumer needs. Finally, they settle on their plan.
“We’re going to come up with an all-new, fifth wine color!”

STORY2

What if you could turn your living room into a stadium?

The Smiths are watching their favorite team playing in the semifinals. AR and VR transport them pitchside and offer new experiences that wouldn’t be possible if they were there in person. The Smiths can watch the action from anywhere in the stadium with unobstructed views in every direction – they can even stand on the pitch if they want to!
“There’s 10 seconds to go…and the pass is intercepted! 10, 9, 8…and the final shot is good!!”
The Smiths’ team has come from behind to win the game! Fans around the world high-five each other. After the match, the Smiths watch exclusive highlights customized just for them.
“If they keep playing like this, I think they can win it all,” Mrs. Smith tells Mr. Smith. “We have to see the final in person!”

Rakuten Mobile Selects NEC and Netcracker to Bring Unique Cloud-Native Mobile Vision to Life.

The Asia Direct Cable Consortium

Spanning 9,400 km and connecting 6 countries:
The submarine cable that will support innovative online services

NEC
Accelerating the adoption of Open RAN in the 5G era with leadership by the Global Center of Excellence (CoE)

Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) technology is expected to become the foundation of next-generation wireless infrastructure and the key to driving innovation in the 5G era with open standards. To accelerate the global adoption of Open RAN, NEC established the Global Open RAN Center of Excellence (CoE) in the U.K. in November 2020.

Staffed by a diverse, highly skilled and highly experienced team, the CoE is responsible for business development, end-to-end system design and integration, project execution, support and maintenance for NEC’s global Open RAN business. It helps communication service providers (CSPs) introduce Open RAN worldwide by leveraging its in-depth knowledge of wireless technology and network function virtualization businesses, as well as NEC’s experience in supporting large-scale Open RAN commercial deployment in Japan. The CoE also forms the backbone of NEC’s global project delivery capability, building on the company’s extensive experience in communication network deployment including unique capabilities as a product supplier and system integrator.

Taking advantage of the CoE’s location in Europe which is the regional forefront of Open RAN initiatives, NEC has been engaged in multiple projects, including trials, with Telefónica Group, Deutsche Telekom and VodafoneZiggo. NEC is also conducting R&D on assessment and verification technologies for interoperability between base station equipment as part of the “Research and Development Project of the Enhanced Infrastructures for Post-5G Information and Communication Systems,” commissioned by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), at the CoE lab in London.

**Related videos：NEC CoE leads open networks deployment [NEC Official][02:55]**

Words from the project team

Yogarajah Gopikrishna,
Head of Global Center of Excellence for Open RAN,
NEC Europe

"Combining NEC’s strength as a product supplier with the field-proven execution/deployment capabilities at our CoE, we have the right skillsets to bring carrier-grade quality to the multivendor Open RAN ecosystem. The CoE has been working on very exciting projects globally since its establishment, and we are keen to contribute to driving innovation together with our customers and trusted ecosystem of partners as we pave the way toward 5G and beyond."

Konica Minolta Inc.
Local 5G as a catalyst for digital transformation:
How a dedicated 5G network is unlocking huge possibilities for collaboration

5G has the power to realize secure and stable ultra-high-speed networks and enable the digital transformation of a wide range of industries. Recognizing this potential, in December 2019, Japan implemented a system that allows businesses other than mobile operators to set up their own local 5G environments. Two businesses making use of this system are NEC and Konica Minolta, who will utilize 5G to promote the further digitalization of IoT/AI technologies, work styles, healthcare, and manufacturing.

With NEC’s 5G network products, the two companies will set up local 5G verification environments in the Takatsuki building of Konica Minolta’s new development base, Innovation Garden OSAKA Center. There, they will combine their respective technologies to create added value in a variety of industries, for example by establishing IP network camera systems in the field of imaging IoT/AI. Innovation Garden OSAKA Center will also serve as an open lab for cross-sectoral collaborative R&D among co-creation partners.

Leveraging the knowhow it has cultivated in developing 5G base stations and capitalizing on its network strengths, NEC is promoting NEC Smart Connectivity as a service business in new areas, and hopes to create new value in collaboration with Konica Minolta.

Words from the project team

Masahiro Murakami,
Senior Manager, Edge Controller Development Division, IoT Service Platform Development Operations,
Konica Minolta Inc.

“I can tell that NEC is not content to just be a technology provider and simply supply the local 5G network products. I am confident that, utilizing 5G, our two companies will be able to work together as truly one team, combining our respective technologies to co-create new value. We encountered various challenges when setting up the 5G environments, but we were always able to overcome them together, and that has helped forge our strong relationship of trust today. Moving forward, Konica Minolta and NEC aim to continue to contribute to society, through co-creation and collaboration, using Innovation Garden OSAKA Center as our base.”