Three UK has successfully completed the first stage of a landmark trial – the UK’s first deployment of Open RAN technology in a dense urban environment.
The trial was designed to test the viability of deploying Open RAN in a complex city setting. Glasgow city centre was selected to assess how the technology performs in busy, high-traffic areas, where integration with existing infrastructure and multiple technologies presents additional complexity.
By installing compact Open RAN small cells on street furniture, the trial delivered impressive results: both 4G and 5G speeds doubled at peak times, with 5G speeds reaching up to 520Mbps. The improved performance also helped ease congestion on surrounding network sites by increasing overall capacity.
Part of the SCONDA project, which is backed by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), this trial marks a major milestone for Open RAN in the UK. It’s the first time the technology has been tested in a high-footfall urban environment, building on earlier trials which had only taken place in rural locations.
Previous trials had all been in rural locations and there was additional complexity with deploying into a multi-vendor, multi-technology environment.
Iain Milligan, Chief Network Officer at Three UK, said: “This is the UK’s first Open RAN trial to tackle the real-world complexity of a dense urban environment. Urban deployments bring a different level of technical and operational challenge compared to rural environments. We’ve had to navigate integration with legacy systems, security layers, and evolving software – all while delivering measurable improvements for customers. The trial results are encouraging and provide a strong foundation for further scaling and optimisation of Open RAN in cities.”
What’s next? Following the successful trial of 18 live sites in Glasgow, the project will now move into its final deployment phase — expanding to a total of 34 Open RAN small cell sites across the city centre.
