Thirty-one of the world's largest technology companies have signed on as founding members of a new organization that will lobby governments to adopt policies that support the development of open and interoperable radio access network (RAN) innovations. Traditional delivery methods have seen operators deploy integrated cell sites that include radio, hardware and software from a single vendor. This approach makes it difficult to mix and match innovations and is a significant barrier to entry for other vendors. However, the 5G era has increased the appetite for a more flexible model, with operators retooling their networks with cloud and software-defined networks (SDN) so they can be more agile in terms of operations and deployment. New services
OpenRAN 5G
The OpenRAN Group project, formed in 2017 under the auspices of the Telecom Infra project (TIP), develops radio standards and technologies based on vendor-independent hardware and software defined innovations that are open and interoperable. This could, in theory, reduce the dominance of the big three vendors and make the market more competitive and innovative while reducing implementation costs. OpenRAN supporters also claim that because operators have a greater choice of providers, they will be able to resolve network issues or redirect resources more quickly since they won't be tied to a particular provider. The formation of the Open RAN Policy Coalition is a recognition that more needs to be done for OpenRAN to catch up with existing players in terms of performance, cost, and industrialization. The organization will urge governments to provide funding and incentives for research, development and testing, arguing that better connectivity will benefit consumers and businesses. "As the current global pandemic demonstrates, vendor choice and flexibility in next-generation network deployments are necessary from a security and performance perspective," said Diane Rinaldo, Executive Director of the Open RAN Policy Coalition. "By promoting policies that standardize and develop open interfaces, we can ensure interoperability and security between different players and potentially lower the barrier to entry for new innovators." Founding members include technology companies at all stages of the networking ecosystem, including AT&T, Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Dell, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intel, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, Oracle, Qualcomm, Rakuten, Samsung, Telefónica, Verizon and VMware. Vodafone has carried out trials of OpenRAN in the UK and says the technology should be included in the government's industrial strategies. "The lack of vendor diversity for network equipment is at the heart of concerns about the resilience and security of critical national infrastructures," said John Wibergh, Vodafone group technical director. “Vodafone is focused on expanding our supply chain options by engaging with open RAN providers and encouraging new network providers, to ensure the optimal balance between providers. Our leading tests in the open RAN market have shown that this is the most promising way to advance into specialist vendors, to complement the large vendors, particularly for radio equipment and software. "