Four of Europe's leading mobile operator groups have joined forces to accelerate the development and deployment of Open RAN technologies across the continent. Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) outlining their commitment to create a framework for the creation of a European Open RAN ecosystem. By working together, the four groups hope to stimulate the market and also encourage support from European governments and the EU. Specifically, they want governments to help fund development, R&D and testing and to encourage supply chain diversity by lowering barriers to entry.
Vodafone OpenRAN
The radio access network (RAN) market has traditionally been dominated by a few major players offering highly integrated cell sites that include radio, hardware and software. This approach made it difficult for operators to combine innovations and proved to be a significant barrier to entry for smaller providers. Open RAN is a vendor-neutral approach with standardized designs that allow a variety of companies to deliver hardware and software. Operators believe it can increase innovation, reduce costs and reduce dependence on the "big three" of Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia. The UK, in particular, has taken a keen interest in Open RAN technology, believing it can help mitigate the negative impacts caused by the decision to exclude Huawei from the 5G rollout. Vodafone opened the first live Open RAN site in the UK last year and plans to upgrade 2.600 sites with open radio technologies by 2027, while continuing to remove Huawei equipment from its network. O2, which is owned by Telefónica, has also hosted Open RAN trials. Analysts estimate that the market for Open RAN technologies will reach €5 billion within five years, and not only will new players get involved. Nokia and Ericsson have joined the O-RAN Alliance, one of many open RAN organizations, which has 170 members of the Alliance of Operators, Suppliers and Research Institutions. In 2020, the O-RAN Alliance partnered with the mobile industry body, GSMA.