New Marvell Chips Aim to Ease 5G Data Processing

Semiconductor manufacturer Marvell has announced the company will be releasing new processing chips that will handle the massive amounts of data transferred over wireless networks.

Experts claim that 5G can produce almost 100x more data than older networks, which can make processing a challenge for some cellular towers. Marvell plans to release Marvell’s Arm-based Octeon processors to offload base tower data, which will spread processing to various locations using OpenRAN (efficient radio access network) technology.

Marvell believes that Octeon processors, OpenRAN, and similar technologies will play a role in bringing 5G connectivity to parts of the world that are void of internet access. By breaking up tasks, OpenRAN can help radio units process 4G and 5G data in convenient locations.

“With a flexible platform based on standard interfaces, OpenRAN is designed to enable operators to source hardware components from different vendors. The approach is important for driving innovation and creating greater competition for hardware and software partners to more aggressively drive down total cost of ownership for operators.” said Marvell VP Raj Singh in an interview with VentureBeat.

The company has also shared that it will also be collaborating with Facebook Connectivity, Facebook’s initiative to bring affordable and easily accessible internet to all parts of the world. Marvell will develop

a 4G/5G OpenRAN Distributed Unit (DU) design for Evenstar, Facebook’s program for creating general-purpose RAN reference designs for 4G and 5G networks in the OpenRAN ecosystem.