TelecomLead.com research has identified several trends in the deployment of Open RAN based technology and solutions.
A map provided by O-RAN ALLIANCE, which tracks trials and deployments of O-RAN based technology, has covered 16 commercial deployments of Open RAN infrastructure by telecom operators to date.
The following developments show that mobile operators’ investment in Open RAN will continue though there’s a slowdown in the deployment.
Vodafone
Vodafone has switched on the UK’s first 5G Open RAN site in Bath, Somerset. Vodafone is planning 2,500 5G open RAN sites in Europe.
Johan Wibergh, Chief Technology Officer at Vodafone, said: “Open RAN is driving network innovation. By combining the best hardware and software from a mix of equipment vendors, we can introduce new features and updates faster across sites.”
Vodafone says its Open RAN roll-out will accelerate this year to bring significant benefits to customers across Europe and Africa.
EchoStar
EchoStar has launched the Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID), an Open RAN testing and evaluation lab housed at EchoStar’s Cheyenne, Wyoming, data center.
EchoStar is receiving a grant of $50 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (Innovation Fund).
O2 Telefonica
O2 Telefonica has started the deployment of Cloud RAN, supporting 5G Standalone (SA), in Offenbach, Germany in the first half of 2024, marking the first deployment of Ericsson Cloud RAN in Europe.
Mallik Rao, Chief Technology & Information Officer, said O2 Telefonica’s cloud transformation in the core and RAN network is an important building block for a flexible, fully automated, high-performance network.
Daniel Leimbach, Head of Customer Unit Western Europe, Ericsson, said Ericsson takes leadership in industrializing Open RAN. “Building on our 5G packet core cloud native collaboration, we are jointly cloudifying the network to pave the way for the network of the future.”
O2 Telefonica launched their first virtualized RAN (vRAN) and Open RAN commercial site in Germany. It is the first time that Samsung’s 5G vRAN solution is being used in a commercial network in Germany. The site is operating in Landsberg am Lech, Bavaria, providing reliable 4G and 5G services, said Junehee Lee, Executive Vice President, Head of Global Sales & Marketing, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics.
Bharti Airtel
Bharti Airtel, one of the leading telecom operators in India, plans to deploy 10,000 cell sites based on Open RAN in rural areas.
Bharti Airtel has selected US-based Mavenir to deploy Open RAN in its 4G and 5G sites in rural areas of the country. Airtel intends to initially deploy Open RAN on 2,500 sites and gradually scale it to 10,000 sites.
Vodafone Idea
Vodafone Idea, a telecom operator in India, is in the advanced commercial phase of an Open RAN network pilot deployment. The deployment covers key launch sites and is currently carrying live commercial traffic ahead of a planned large-scale deployment, Mavenir said.
Jagbir Singh, Chief Technical Officer of Vodafone Idea, said investment in open RAN technology will be delivering the network enhanced capabilities, better TCO and open interfaces that will push the industry forward in new ways.
TELUS
TELUS, a telecom operator in Canada, will build Canada’s first commercial virtualized and open radio access network (RAN) for offering enhanced performance, flexibility, energy efficiency and automation.
With an Open RAN, TELUS is able to use components from different manufacturers that best meet its needs, while a virtualized radio access network (vRAN) allows the use of software instead of hardware, said Nazim Benhadid, Chief Technology Officer at TELUS.
Samsung Electronics, Wind River, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Intel are the technology partners for the Open RAN project.
AT&T
AT&T said its investment in open RAN is aimed at powering 70 percent of its wireless network traffic to flow across open-capable platforms by late 2026. AT&T expects to have fully integrated open RAN sites operating in partnership with Ericsson and Fujitsu, starting in 2024.
Chris Sambar, Executive Vice President, AT&T Network, said: “We will open up radio access networks, drive innovation, spur competition and connect more Americans with 5G and fiber.”
Verizon
Verizon has completed Open RAN conformance and interoperability testing for commercial-grade LTE and 5G NR radios for Verizon’s network, Samsung Electronics said.
Verizon conducted tests in Samsung’s lab in Dallas, Texas, using Samsung’s radios compliant with O-RAN specifications. The tests included Samsung radios including CAT-A radios 4T4R supporting 700/850 MHz and AWS/PCS bands, CAT-B 64T64R Massive MIMO C-Band radios and 16T16R C-band and CBRS dual-band radios.
Steven Rice, Vice President of Network Planning, Verizon, said: “By using O-RAN radios and software-driven infrastructure with partners like Samsung, we continue to drive the industry towards a more open, interoperable environment which will provide greater flexibility, greater innovation and better performance.”
Vendors Speak
Ericsson said open RAN provides operators with enhanced flexibility and scalability, reduced costs, increased efficiency, and improved service quality. Its open interfaces allow for mixing and matching components from different vendors, streamlined network management, and quicker deployment of new services, ultimately enhancing customer satisfaction.
Nokia says its AirScale baseband products are Open RAN compliant. Nokia’s Tuuli 6 and Tuuli 12 outdoor baseband solutions support twice as much cell capacity while reducing power consumption by up to 40 percent. They also enhance uplink throughput by up to 30 percent.
FORECAST
According to Juniper Research, investment in Open Radio Access Networks by operators is expected to increase to $11 billion in 2029, up from $2 billion in 2024. This is part of investment in AI network automation, which is expected to reach nearly $40 billion by 2029.
Juniper Research author Alex Webb said: “Operators must leverage AI-based traffic steering to improve connectivity services, such as enhanced mobile broadband, with network traffic generated by these connections being given priority steering to the base station offering the lowest latency to maximise the value proposition for users.”
Mobile operators will invest over $30 billion in Open RAN networks by 2030. Accelerated growth is expected from 2025 onwards after stagnation in 2023 and 2024. Open RAN network investments will grow at a CAGR of 24 percent during the forecast period, CounterPoint Research said.
The number of Open RAN cell sites will reach 1.3 million by the end of the decade, 5G Americas said in its website quoting a report.
A recent report said the Open RAN market will be reaching $20.9 billion in 2030 from $2.8 billion in 2024.
Dell’Oro Group says open RAN, Cloud RAN, and multi-vendor RAN are expected to account for >25 percent, 20 to 25 percent, and <10 percent of the total RAN market, respectively, by 2028.
By 2028, open RAN revenue is projected to comprise 30-40 percent of the revenues in China, while North America is expected to lead the broader Open RAN movement throughout the forecast period. Europe is projected to account for 15 to 20 percent of worldwide Open RAN revenues by 2028.
“Open RAN is happening, but this vision that Open RAN will significantly change the vendor dynamics is fading,” said Stefan Pongratz, Vice President of RAN market research at the Dell’Oro Group.
The open RAN development indicates that most mobile operators will incorporate more openness, virtualization, intelligence, and automation into their RAN roadmaps despite challenges. The pace will differ slightly between the radios and the baseband, while the multi-vendor RAN business case is less compelling, says Stefan Pongratz.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
