Virgin Media O2 and Mavenir Telecom paired to trial Open RAN technology at Twickenham Stadium (Allianz Stadium).

The carrier revealed that as part of a government-backed 5G MoDE (Mobile O-RAN for Highly Dense Environments) project, it delivered a temporary O-RAN Cell on Wheels (COW) at the O2 Blueroom, located just outside the stadium in Twickenham, London.

The trial, backed by the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), took part during the England vs Italy Six Nations fixture earlier this month (March 9).

The carrier announced last month that it deployed its 5G network at the rugby ground.

Virgin Media O2 noted that the O-RAN COW was deployed in the fanzone before and after the game took place.

According to the telco, the trial set out to demonstrate how Open RAN can improve mobile experience for thousands of users within busy areas.

Open RAN is a technology that seeks to diversify the vendor supply chain and mix and match vendors within the mobile networks.

“Our successful deployment at the Allianz Stadium marks a significant step forward in transforming mobile connectivity. We are proving that flexible, intelligent networks can deliver impressive performance even under the heavy load conditions of major events," said Professor David Owens, head of technical trials at Virgin Media O2.

US software company Mavenir has pushed hard on Open RAN in the last few years. A few weeks back at Mobile World Congress, Rick Mostaert, vice president of product management, RAN, told DCD that Tier 1 vendors such as Ericsson and Nokia need to be "more open" in order for the technology to thrive.