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What started with the promise of vendor interoperability in open RAN is beginning to look more like business as usual for radio access networks.
The NTIA recently awarded $42 million toward open RAN testing to AT&T and Verizon, but the dream of open radio access networks is far from becoming a reality. What started with the promise of vendor interoperability is beginning to look more like business as usual.
"At first, open RAN was about combining multiple vendors at the same mobile site to boost competition and cut dependency on a single supplier," reported Light Reading's Iain Morris. "Now it's presented as an insurance policy against lock-in, a get-out-of-jail-free card to justify a single RAN deal."
Notably, AT&T has selected Ericsson as a single vendor for open RAN, which conflicts with the original idea of a multi-vendor approach.
"The industry's recent moves around open RAN prove that the profit-minded approach to building telecom networks is to stick with a few, large, market-dominant suppliers," reported Light Reading's Phil Harvey. "But the government continues to use taxpayer funds to fan the barely flickering flame of open networks in the US."
'Profit-minded approach'
Light Reading's Phil Harvey, Iain Morris and Mike Dano join the podcast to discuss the original goal of open RAN compared to recent moves by service providers to go all-in on one vendor. They also address the NTIA's distribution of open RAN testing funds and what that could mean for future open RAN deployments.
*Editor's note: This podcast was recorded last week, which is when the NTIA distributed funding for open RAN testing.
For a lightly edited transcript, please click the caption button in the video toolbar.
Here are a few topics we covered:
NTIA awards $42 million in funding to AT&T and Verizon for open RAN testing (02:07)
AT&T selects Ericsson as its only open RAN vendor (04:34)
Implications of the NTIA open RAN funding (10:02)
Just wait ten years and the industry will have open RAN figured out (OK, Mike, sure) (18:06)
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