The trial marks a major breakthrough in mobile network densification, showcasing the potential of integrating O-RAN compliant small cells with existing macro infrastructure.
At the heart of the project is Mavenir’s Open vRAN solution and O-RAN compliant small cell technology, deployed on street furniture like lamp posts to improve coverage and ease congestion in high-footfall areas.
The trial demonstrated that 4G and 5G speeds doubled during peak periods, with Three UK’s 5G reaching up to 520Mbps.
“This network densification project proves that the Open RAN layer built by Mavenir can efficiently and effectively meet the needs of Three UK and its customers in one of the busiest cities in the UK,” said Brandon Larson, SVP, cloud and AI at Mavenir.
“Our solution has delivered a 2x improvement in 5G speeds, a measurable uplift in capacity, and handover of customer traffic has been outstanding.”
Three UK’s chief network officer, Iain Milligan, praised the technical success of the roll-out. “Mavenir and Red Hat have been exceptional partners on this groundbreaking project – the UK’s first Open RAN trial to tackle the real-world complexity of a dense urban environment.
“We’ve had to navigate integration with legacy systems, security layers, and evolving software – all while delivering measurable improvements for customers.”
The trial, involving 18 live sites, will now expand to 34 as part of the SCONDA (Small Cells O-RAN in Dense Areas) initiative, a UK government-backed effort to strengthen digital infrastructure in urban environments.
Red Hat OpenShift played a critical role, providing the hybrid cloud platform for running Mavenir’s OpenBeam radios and enabling full-stack automation, improved security, and faster deployment cycles.
“Red Hat and Mavenir share a commitment to delivering optimised Open RAN solutions,” said Honoré LaBourdette, VP, Global Telco Ecosystem at Red Hat. “This collaboration with Three UK helps deliver enhanced customer experiences and streamlines operations for the city of Glasgow.”
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