Nokia has suspended its work with the O-RAN Alliance amid concerns some of its members may be subject to US sanctions, Politico reports. According to an email seen by the publication, Nokia said it suspended all technical activities with the group because of a "compliance-related matter" concerning O-RAN contributors included on the US entity list.
The three Chinese firms in the O-RAN Alliance that are subject to US restrictions due to potential threats to national security are Kindroid, Phytium and Inspur. The same as Huawei, their placement on the entity list bars the companies from doing business with US companies without specific licences. Server manufacturer Inspur was also targeted with an Executive Order stopping US investments going into sensitive Chinese technology last June.
Two unnamed industry officials told Politico that Nokia's legal team had likely determined that the risk of penalties from the US was too high to continue the work inside the industry alliance.
Nokia said in a statement that it remained committed to the open RAN movement and the ORAN Alliance. "At this stage we are simply pausing technical activity with the Alliance as some participants have been added to the US entities list and it is prudent for us to allow the Alliance time to analyse and come to a resolution," a Nokia spokesperson said in a statement.
The O-RAN Alliance did not respond to a request for comment.
