Open RAN is entering a decisive phase in 2026 as global telecom operators move from trials toward larger commercial deployments, but the industry’s original promise of dramatically lower mobile network costs remains only partly proven.
AT&T, Vodafone, Orange and Rakuten Mobile show that Open RAN technology is commercially viable at scale or approaching scale. However, operators are increasingly emphasizing automation, supplier diversity, cloud-native infrastructure, energy efficiency and faster software innovation rather than promising immediate Capex reductions.
The shift is important because radio access networks represent one of the largest areas of telecom network investment. Open RAN separates hardware and software components and introduces standardized interfaces, potentially allowing operators to combine radios, basebands, cloud platforms and applications from different suppliers instead of relying on one traditional RAN vendor.
In 2026, the question is no longer whether Open RAN works. It is whether the architecture can deliver better economics than highly optimized traditional RAN.
AT&T Pushes Open RAN Toward US Commercial Scale
AT&T represents one of the world’s most important tests.
The US operator is executing an approximately $14 billion, five-year agreement with Ericsson as part of its transition toward an open, programmable wireless network. AT&T aims to have 70 percent of its wireless network traffic running on open-capable platforms by late 2026.
In March 2026, AT&T said it had completed more than 50 percent of its radio replacement program, while more than 50 percent of network traffic was already running on open-capable hardware.
The AT&T Open RAN program has also moved beyond Ericsson-only infrastructure. AT&T completed an Open RAN call on its commercial network using Ericsson basebands and 1Finity radios, demonstrating interoperability between equipment suppliers.
AT&T has separately selected Fujitsu and Mavenir to develop open C-band and dual-band radios for dense urban environments. Ericsson’s Intelligent Automation Platform provides orchestration and RAN Intelligent Controller capabilities.
This illustrates an important Open RAN reality: open networks do not necessarily mean removing established vendors. Instead, operators can retain a major supplier as the integration and software anchor while gradually introducing radios and applications from other companies.
Vodafone Brings Samsung Open RAN to Thousands of European Sites
Vodafone is taking another large-scale approach.
The operator has selected Samsung as a strategic Open RAN supplier as part of a five-year network investment program covering Europe and Africa. Germany is becoming the first major deployment market, with Samsung equipment planned for thousands of sites.
The first site is already operational in Hannover, while Wismar was targeted to become Vodafone’s first German city fully equipped with Open RAN during spring 2026. Vodafone plans thousands of additional Samsung-powered sites in other markets during the program.
The Vodafone Open RAN strategy is particularly important because the operator is simultaneously maintaining Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei as strategic network suppliers.
Vodafone has already been deploying Open RAN across 2,500 UK sites and has started commercial deployment in Romania. The operator says its Open RAN implementations have achieved performance that is comparable to or better than legacy equipment across measurements including 4G and 5G call success rates and download and upload speeds.
Vodafone has a longer-term target of equipping 30 percent of its European sites with Open RAN by 2030.
Orange Moves Samsung Open RAN Beyond European Pilots
Orange provides another indication that European Open RAN is progressing from experimentation toward commercial networks.
Orange and Samsung expanded their partnership in February 2026 following pilots conducted since 2023. They plan to increase the number of vRAN and Open RAN sites deployed in Europe during 2026.
The architecture combines Samsung’s AI-powered vRAN with Intel Xeon 6, a Dell commercial off-the-shelf server and Wind River’s cloud platform. Orange says earlier live-network deployments produced service quality and user experience comparable to or better than traditional RAN.
The Orange-Samsung Open RAN expansion also highlights where operators may find savings.
A more powerful single-server architecture can reduce hardware footprint, lower power consumption and simplify operations. Unused computing capacity can potentially support AI and edge applications.
This is a different economic proposition from simply purchasing cheaper radios. Savings may increasingly come from server consolidation, automation, energy efficiency and improved infrastructure utilization.
Rakuten Shows What Nationwide Open RAN Can Become
Rakuten Mobile remains the industry’s most prominent example of a nationwide cloud-native Open RAN network.
In February 2026, Rakuten Mobile and Rakuten Symphony announced nationwide deployment of RAN Intelligent Controller applications across the Japanese commercial network, including integration of third-party rApps.
The Rakuten nationwide RIC deployment supports predictive maintenance, mobility enhancement, traffic optimization and AI-assisted network decisions.
This represents an important evolution of the Open RAN business case.
The financial value may not come primarily from mixing radio suppliers. Open interfaces allow operators to introduce third-party software that continuously optimizes network performance, potentially reducing manual intervention and accelerating network changes.
Rakuten said in July 2026 that its large-scale commercial Open RAN network had been operating for six years, demonstrating that the architecture can support a national mobile network.
Where Are the Open RAN Cost Savings?
This remains the most difficult question.
Early Open RAN expectations focused heavily on lower equipment costs through increased vendor competition and commercial off-the-shelf hardware. The 2026 deployments suggest the economics are more complicated.
Multi-vendor networks require extensive integration, testing, certification, cloud infrastructure, lifecycle management and software orchestration. These expenses can offset some of the savings generated by greater supplier competition.
At the same time, traditional RAN suppliers have responded with increasingly open, cloud-native and energy-efficient architectures of their own.
The stronger Open RAN cost case is therefore shifting toward four areas.
First, supplier competition can reduce dependence on a single equipment provider.
Second, automation can reduce manual network management and optimization.
Third, commercial servers and virtualization can consolidate workloads and improve hardware utilization.
Fourth, energy savings can emerge from newer processors, smaller hardware footprints and intelligent network management.
Operators may therefore need to measure Open RAN through total cost of ownership over several years, rather than comparing the purchase price of an Open RAN site against a traditional base station.
Open RAN Is Surviving, but the Business Case Has Changed
The 2026 evidence does not support either extreme of the Open RAN debate.
Open RAN has not displaced Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei through a wave of low-cost specialist suppliers. In fact, Ericsson remains central to AT&T’s US transformation. Vodafone continues working with Ericsson and Nokia alongside Samsung.
But Open RAN has also clearly moved beyond laboratory trials.
AT&T has more than 50 percent of traffic on open-capable hardware, Vodafone is taking Samsung to thousands of European sites, Orange is expanding commercial deployments, and Rakuten has moved third-party RIC applications across a nationwide network.
The commercial objective has consequently evolved.
The strongest Open RAN proposition in 2026 is no longer simply “cheaper RAN.” It is a programmable, multi-vendor and increasingly AI-driven RAN that gives operators greater control over suppliers, software, automation and network evolution.
For global telecom operators, the final test will be financial. Open RAN will need to demonstrate that lower operating costs, energy savings, vendor competition, faster innovation and improved network utilization exceed the additional integration and cloud-computing costs.
The deployments underway at AT&T, Vodafone, Orange and Rakuten suggest Open RAN has passed the technology test. Proving the return on investment at nationwide scale is now the industry’s bigger challenge.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
