BAI Communications Partners With Mavenir to Deliver Sunderland’s Smart City Project
Mavenir, the Network Software Provider building the future of networks with cloud-native software that runs on any cloud and transforms the way the world connects, today announced that BAI Communications (BAI), a global communications infrastructure provider, will be launching a Smart City project for Sunderland City Council in the north of England (UK), powered by Mavenir’s MAVedge solution.
BAI Communications will build a new 5G centric network to accelerate adoption of transformative digital services for sectors including manufacturing and logistics, education and social care. The initial scope is for the deployment of a city-centre 5G private network which has the potential to evolve and become a neutral host network.
Neutral host models provide coverage and connectivity for smart city initiatives. They enable local councils and authorities to provide smart services and run numerous smart community applications in a more viable and cost-effective manner.
MAVedge comprises Mavenir’s leading edge Open vRAN and 5G Packet Core solutions to drive the next generation digital transformation of this Smart City project, and to provide advanced 5G mobile connectivity to the local Sunderland community. MAVedge enables secure private networks to be distributed at the edge and powers a digital marketplace of applications and devices to create an efficient environment for diverse use cases for the enterprise and industry.
The 5G Open vRAN and 5G Packet Core solutions are designed with cloud-native virtualisation techniques providing a fully scalable and virtualised network architecture with open standard interfaces. The Open RAN platform provides BAI Communications the option of deploying radio units from different vendors. The solution uses software running on commercial off the shelf (COTS) hardware that provides cost effectiveness, flexibility and agility, whilst delivering one architecture as a baseline for many different use cases.
The new network will help accelerate transformation within various sectors in Sunderland including:
- Smart Homes: addressing health and social care requirements supporting vulnerable individuals living in their own homes, providing access to assistive technologies such as sensors and other IoT enabled devices.
- Digital Skills and Education: providing enhanced online and remote connectivity and distance learning across Primary Schools and Secondary Schools within the local authority.
- Manufacturing and Industry 4.0: improving supply chain agility for the automotive industry, including applications such as self-driving vehicles and autonomous heavy goods vehicles.
“Open RAN is a cost-effective solution which is based on open interfaces and will give us the ability to deploy in a very agile and flexible way,” said Brendan O’Reilly, Group Chief Technology Officer at BAI Communications. “We are delighted to work with Mavenir, a technology innovator company in cloud-native virtualised solutions and a leading player in the Open RAN initiative and 5G Core. Technology we believe will help accelerate Sunderland’s ambitions to become one of the UK’s most advanced smart cities, connecting people, communities and businesses.”
“BAI Communications represents an ideal partner for this prestigious smart city project in Sunderland. Together, we will be able to build new RAN and Packet Core domains that will deliver the flexibility needed for a diverse set of cross-sector use cases. Virtualised solutions from Mavenir are the perfect choice of technology with Open vRAN and Cloud-Native Packet Core. The objective is to automate operations and flex the scalability in neutral hosting architecture, whilst delivering benefits not only to enterprises and business users, but also for the wider community,” said Stefano Cantarelli, Chief Marketing Officer at Mavenir.
“We are creating a new digital fabric for Sunderland’s City, upon which the City’s digital and business entrepreneurs can build – a portfolio of new digital services for the benefits of residents, businesses and visitors,” says Andrew Conway, Director of Solutions and Innovation at BAI Communications UK.
Liz St Louis, Assistant Director of Smart Cities at Sunderland City Council, said, “We have long recognised the importance of technology in connecting people and realising opportunities to position Sunderland as a digital frontrunner. This new partnership between BAI Communications and Mavenir presents a fully scalable network architecture to unlock innovation and shape the future of our leading smart city.
“Together, we are harnessing the power of technology and digital transformation for the benefit of residents, businesses and visitors to Sunderland. The new network will accelerate the emergence of more smart services including community applications, digital upskilling opportunities and efficiency drives for our advanced manufacturing clusters across the city.”
About Mavenir:
Mavenir is building the future of networks and pioneering advanced technology, focusing on the vision of a single, software-based automated network that runs on any cloud. As the industry's only end-to-end, cloud-native network software provider, Mavenir is focused on transforming the way the world connects, accelerating software network transformation for 250+ Communications Service Providers in over 120 countries, which serve more than 50% of the world’s subscribers. www.mavenir.com
About BAI Communications:
BAI Communications is a world leader in shared communications infrastructure, pioneering solutions that empower our customers to advance their services, accelerate their networks and amplify their reach in the most efficient and cost-effective ways possible. Having long been at the forefront of network advancement, BAI is harnessing fibre, spearheading the transition from 4G/LTE, accelerating 5G and preparing for 6G – and beyond. We collaborate closely with our customers in MNOs, government, transit, enterprise, broadcasting and venues to realise their communications vision, focusing not just on the immediate future, but on the possibilities that exist over long-term partnerships. Our global operations span Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, United Kingdom and in the United States through BAI Group company, Mobilitie, and majority-owned Transit Wireless. Together, we’re creating smarter communities for all. https://www.baicommunications.com
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220110005089/en/
Contact information
PR Contact Mavenir
Emmanuela Spiteri
PR@mavenir.com
EMEA PR
Kevin Taylor
KTaylor@GlobalResultsPR.com
PR Contact BAI Communications UK:
Roberta de Lima
roberta.delima@baicommunications.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Xsolla Expands Payment Coverage in Portugal With MB Way, a Leading Mobile Wallet Trusted by 6 Million Customers, to Unlock New Growth Opportunities for Game Developers20.1.2026 17:41:00 EET | Press release
Xsolla, a global video game commerce company that helps developers launch, grow, and monetize their games, today announced the expansion of its payments solution in Portugal with the addition of MB Way. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120938007/en/ Graphic: Xsolla Portugal is a leader in digital transformation, with nearly 90% of its population online, high smartphone usage, and a strong adoption of mobile banking. Trusted by 6 million people, connected to 11 million cards, supported by 28 banks, and driving 496 million transactions in 2024, MB Way provides 95% market coverage, allowing most bank customers to use the service. MB Way is the leading mobile wallet in Portugal, with an estimated market share of 34%-45% of all e-commerce transactions locally. By adding MB Way as a payment method to its portfolio, Xsolla continues to deliver the fast and flexible payment experience Portuguese players expect. Key
Andersen Consulting Adds Collaborating Firm Africa International Advisors20.1.2026 16:30:00 EET | Press release
Andersen Consulting extends its strategy and business transformation capabilities in Africa through a Collaboration Agreement with Africa International Advisors (AIA), a Johannesburg-based firm focusing on enhancing business competitiveness through sector specific insights, innovation and advisory services. Founded in 2002, AIA is a pan-African management consulting firm that delivers strategy-led advisory services with a focus on digital transformation and AI-driven business outcomes. The firm advises clients across sectors including energy and resources, oil and gas, infrastructure, trade and logistics, financial services, banking, and telecom. AIA’s strategic perspective, local credibility, and market access enable it to design and implement solutions that align people, processes, and technology to drive meaningful change. “From the beginning, our mission has been to drive progress through an Africa-centered lens, grounded in the realities and ambitions of the continent,” said Hasna
Balena Secures Strategic Growth Investment to Accelerate Edge AI and IoT Fleet Management20.1.2026 16:14:00 EET | Press release
Balena, the leading platform for deploying, managing, and scaling fleets of edge computing and AI devices, today announced a strategic growth investment from LoneTree Capital (“LoneTree”), a New York-based growth capital firm. The partnership will accelerate Balena’s product innovation with a focus on Edge AI workloads and security features to meet evolving compliance needs, while expanding resources for customer success and global fleet support. Founded in 2011, Balena enables customers to leverage the ever-increasing power of technology to solve real-world problems by providing software to manage the full lifecycle of edge computing devices. The platform abstracts away infrastructure complexity, handling critical tasks like secure Over-The-Air (OTA) updates so engineering teams can focus on their core product. As a truly hardware-agnostic solution, Balena empowers customers to deploy their applications, including intensive Edge AI workloads, on the devices of their choice, avoiding v
SIRBAI Launches Middle East’s First AI-Powered Autonomous Drone Swarm Technology at UMEX 202620.1.2026 16:11:00 EET | Press release
SIRBAI today announced the official launch of the Middle East’s first AI-powered autonomous drone swarm technology at UMEX 2026 - a global exhibition platform for unmanned systems and autonomous capabilities - marking the company’s entry into the defense technology sector. Designed for unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the platform enables multiple drones to operate collaboratively with a high degree of autonomy, even in complex and contested environments. As the first company in the region to offer this advanced capability, SIRBAI is set to redefine the modern battlefield with innovative and scalable autonomous technology, establishing new standards for resilient and operator-friendly mission systems for modern defense operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260120186459/en/ SIRBAI Launches Middle East’s First AI-Powered Autonomous Drone Swarm Technology at UMEX 2026 (Photo: AETOSWire) SIRBAI enters the mark
FlightSafety International Receives EASA and UK CAA Certification for Gulfstream G700 Flight Simulator at Farnborough Learning Centre20.1.2026 16:05:00 EET | Press release
FlightSafety International Inc. (FSI), a global leader in aviation training and simulation technology, announced today it has received European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) certification for its Gulfstream G700 Full Flight Simulator (FFS), located at the company’s Farnborough Learning Centre. The certification of the simulator, which was engineered and manufactured by FSI, validates the advanced technology, accuracy, and fidelity of the flight training device, confirming it meets the highest European and UK regulatory standards. The FFS will be leveraged for initial, recurrent, and advanced pilot training to support G700 and Gulfstream G800 aircraft, further expanding global access to high-fidelity training. “The G700 simulator certification in Farnborough reinforces FSI’s long-standing commitment to supporting Gulfstream operators across Europe,” said David Mann, Farnborough Centre Manager, FlightSafety International. “It expands access to
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom