Networking specialist HFR recently announced that it has successfully demonstrated its Radio Unit (RU) based on an open fronthaul interface in collaboration with SK Telecom.

By interworking a legacy vendor's virtualized base station (O-DU) with HFR's 5G radio unit (O-RU), the company established an Open RAN-based network in a real indoor office environment, marking an important technical milestone in the successful demonstration of Open RAN technology in the wireless network of a domestic mobile operator.

The demonstration confirmed the commercial viability of open network technology and demonstrated that the flexibility and efficiency of communication infrastructure can be greatly enhanced by interconnecting equipment from various vendors. 

In particular, securing multi-vendor compatibility based on open fronthaul standards is recognized as a key factor in building the next generation network environment after 5G.

HFR is also participating as a founding member of the O-RU Alliance, which was launched on March 3, 2025.

The alliance, led by Japan's Kyocera, aims to develop O-RAN-compatible wireless devices and secure interoperability by working together with global network equipment companies in Korea, Taiwan, India, and other countries, and HFR plans to continue to conduct interoperability tests for interworking with Kyocera's O-CU/O-DU.

Dr. Jongmin Chung, CEO of HFR, said, “The success of this commercial network interworking is an opportunity to externally demonstrate HFR's wireless device technology and capability to respond to open networks. We will continue to work closely with the O-RU Alliance to lead the innovation of global communication infrastructure and contribute to building a flexible and interoperable 5G and next-generation network environment.”

HFR will continue to strengthen cooperation with domestic and international carriers and global partners, and will continue to develop advanced wireless network solutions such as AI-RAN technology to enable O-RAN to be effective in practice.