Xilinx, Inc. announced that the companies are collaborating on NEC’s next-generation 5G radio units (RUs) expected to be available for global deployment in 2022. Xilinx® 7 nm Versal® AI Core series devices, which are currently shipping in volume production, will enable greater performance in the new NEC RUs. 

These latest NEC 5G massive MIMO RUs utilize digital beamforming for more efficient communication and wider bandwidth. Designed to address worldwide markets, NEC RUs will support a wide range of 5G frequencies, including C-Band. The Xilinx Versal AI Core series devices used within the NEC RUs enable advanced signal processing and beamforming, while also integrating O-RAN capabilities. O-RAN interfaces enable open and flexible 5G RAN deployments, in addition to allowing broader interoperability with products from different vendors. 

“NEC’s new massive MIMO radios using Xilinx’s commercially-proven beamforming capabilities will enable an improved wireless end-user experience as use cases continue to grow and evolve in the future,” said Liam Madden, executive vice president and general manager, Wired and Wireless Group at Xilinx. “The combination of NEC’s leadership in massive MIMO radio design and Xilinx technology will deliver a compelling solution to the O-RAN market.”

“In the highly competitive 5G base station market, the integration of Xilinx technology within NEC RUs will provide valuable advantages to our customers who demand highly-capable and feature-rich RUs that deliver the performance needed to scale for nearly any application,” said Kenichi Ito, general manager, 1st Wireless Access Solutions Division at NEC. “The Xilinx Versal AI Core series delivers on its design promise for performance and scalability by using advanced signal processing for massive MIMO antennas and beamforming. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Xilinx.”