A new industry coalition has formed to promote open RAN technologies among government policymakers. The Open RAN Policy Coalition includes many of the telecom operators from around the world that are testing open RAN equipment, as well as the hardware companies working on developing mobile radio networks based on open-source, modular products. They see open RAN as a possible answer to government concerns about 5G network security and call for the state to play a roll in supporting the new approach to building mobile networks.
The founding members of the coalition are Airspan, Altiostar, AT&T, AWS, Cisco, CommScope, Dell, Dish Network, Facebook, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Intel, Juniper Networks, Mavenir, Microsoft, NEC, NewEdge Signal Solutions, NTT, Oracle, Parallel Wireless, Qualcomm, Rakuten, Samsung Electronics America, Telefonica, US Ignite, Verizon, VMWare, Vodafone, World Wide Technology, and XCOM-Labs.
Many of the companies already belong to industry groups such as the Telecom Infra Project and O-RAN Alliance that are working on the technology and standards for open-source radio network equipment. The new alliance takes a policy approach, to engage with government bodies on the need to support the open RAN market's development.
With more governments pushing for vendor diversity in mobile networks to try to reduce security risks, the mobile industry is calling for support in developing a more competitive equipment market through open RAN. The unifying principle behind the new coalition is the belief that by “opening” the protocols and interfaces between the various sub-components (radios, hardware and software) in the RAN, the market will move to an environment where networks can be deployed with a more modular design, and without being dependent upon a single vendor. Using multiple interoperable suppliers will help operators to potentially move more quickly to replace or address vulnerable network equipment when reacting to threats, and shift network capacity on demand, the coalition said in a statement.
The coalition will lobby for support in global development of open and interoperable wireless technologies and solutions, including state funding for R&D and preference for open RAN in public procurement and subsidy programmes. It will also engage in the debate on new security requirements for 5G network, working to avoid barriers to network deployment and "heavy-handed or prescriptive solutions", it said. In particular, the coalition singled out the US federal government to play a role, after the Americans launched the debate on the security of equipment from Huawei and ZTE, two of the four main radio suppliers in the world.
The executive director of the coalition is Diane Rinaldo, who previously worked as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the US Department of Commerce.
