Open RAN
Full Title or Meme
Challenges of Open RAN Adoption, Deployment, and Interoperability
Aleem Mohsan
System Developer | System Tester | Cybersecurity Analyst
August 1, 2024
Introduction to Open RAN
Open RAN (Radio Access Networks) has been a hot topic in the telecom industry, promising a modular and interoperable approach to building networks. However, its adoption, deployment, and interoperability present significant challenges. In this blog, we will delve into the challenges faced by the Telecom industry in the realm of Open RAN and explore the innovative solutions they employed to overcome them.
Challenges in Adoption
Adopting Open RAN involves integrating new technology into existing networks while maintaining performance. This requires careful planning and consideration of several factors. Firstly, it's essential to understand the requirements of the new technology and ensure all contributors are aware of what is needed to deliver optimal performance. This includes both hardware and software components. Secondly, timing plays a crucial role. Network build-outs need to be planned strategically to incorporate Open RAN technology at the right time, considering dependencies on other implementations. Lastly, adoption is not just about technology; it's also about adjusting operating procedures and ensuring people embrace and utilize the technology effectively. This holistic approach is vital for successful adoption.
Overcoming Adoption Challenges
Addressing the adoption challenges requires a mindful and pragmatic approach. The Telecom Industry has been taking this approach by focusing on achieving the right performance in an industrialized product globally. Listening to customer needs and collaborating with industry partners is crucial. By aligning with the industry and ensuring performance requirements for 5G networks are met, the telecom industry like Ericsson aims to facilitate smoother adoption of Open RAN.
Deployment Challenges
Deploying Open RAN involves more than just technology; it requires careful implementation into the network. This includes considerations such as site design, transport commitments, synchronization solutions, and software lifecycle management. One of the primary objectives is to achieve a high-performing network. With decades of experience in integrated RAN, the Telecom sector aims to infuse this knowledge into an Open RAN platform, collaborating with partners in the ecosystem. Practical aspects such as form factors in cabinets and lifecycle management of software layers are critical. Ensuring readiness in an Open RAN context is essential for successful deployment.
Ensuring Efficient Deployment
To support mobile operators, Telecom industries ensure that its radios are prepared to support new open fronthaul standards. With a significant number of massive MIMO radios deployed that can use the new open interfaces, the first wave of deployment is underway. Lifecycle management is another challenge that requires a new management and orchestration paradigm. Efficient deployment involves doing things right the first time to avoid costly services and site revisits. The management stack defined by the O-RAN Alliance provides a good architectural blueprint, but it needs to be extended to consider the existing install base in LTE and 5G networks. This holistic approach maximizes the potential of a horizontal architecture.
Interoperability Challenges
Interoperability is a significant challenge in Open RAN, requiring pre-integrated solutions and coordination between various components. Not all interfaces are equally complex, and achieving interoperability involves several steps. On the RAN side, understanding the software and radio aspects is crucial. Calibration of IoT profiles, parameter coordination, and regression testing are essential to ensure features run properly and secure day-one integration. Maintaining interoperability throughout the lifecycle of radios, which can remain in the network for years, requires sustained efforts. This is particularly challenging in a multi-vendor environment.
Achieving Interoperability
Pre-integration and complementary services play a vital role in achieving interoperability. It's also essential to change operational processes to realize the full potential of new technology. Operational and organizational adaptation is necessary to embrace and utilize the technology effectively. This holistic approach ensures that the technology delivers its intended benefits.
Conclusion
Open RAN presents significant challenges in adoption, deployment, and interoperability. However, with a mindful and pragmatic approach, collaboration with industry partners, and a focus on holistic solutions, these challenges can be overcome. As the telecom sector charts the path towards large-scale Open RAN networks, addressing these challenges is crucial for achieving high-performing and interoperable networks that will shape the future of telecommunications.
Accelerating 5G Innovation and Cost Efficiency
Oghenekevwe Kofi, Msc, PMP - Project Management Professional
August 28, 2024
Introduction
One of the most impactful technological advancements of recent times is the acceleration of the 5G revolution. The increased investment across all global regions in 5G networks and services is evidence of the world's faith in the potential of this newest generation of mobile technology to transform the connectivity landscape. India is no exception. To support India's 5G revolution, a robust, resilient, and interoperable 5G RAN ecosystem needs to be developed in a secure and trusted approach. Rapid innovations in digital technologies and resultant service delivery models have led to vastly different security and trust requirements as compared to proprietary hardware/software-dominated solutions. With the advent of a new digital world order, ensuring security is no longer just about technology safeguards but has also become an intrinsic capability for secure service delivery. Open RAN, simply put, is about enabling open source and open standards-driven modular network designs and business models to enable innovation and cost efficiency across the entire RAN operation lifecycle. Open RAN drives the underlying technology enablement needed to deliver the vision of a global connected environment and federated digital systems that enable seamless access to telecom services and the wider digital data ecosystem built on the principles of modular and distributed intelligence anchored in privacy, non-repudiation, cyber, and data security. This ecosystem, along with data governance regulations, represents the holistic digital infrastructure representation of principles of Ayogya. From a technical biological standpoint, in addition to AI, neural networks, and analytics, the architecture is designed to enable edge computing with low latencies; device processing security to ensure no eavesdropping at the device level; and secure digital ecosystems amongst other technical advantages. This whitepaper looks at the Open RAN revolution – ensuring robust, secure, and advanced networks.
Background and Significance
In the last several years, the telecommunications industry has been experiencing a revolution worldwide and particularly in the developed markets. It's with great interest that 5G is discussed, developed, and launched in several countries. The new radio access network (RAN) introduces a new network architecture and protocol regulated by the 3GPP standard. The evolution of the RAN technology and the wish to better control the total cost of network ownership (TCO) have paved the way towards the proposal of the so-called Open RAN. The trend towards a more open radio access network started with the centralized, virtualized RAN and the Cloud RAN. Due to the centralization of the network, chosen cell sites no longer include a dedicated Baseband Unit (BBU). The purpose is to concentrate all the computational base-band resources only in a few so-called central offices (CO), based on the assumption that not all the deployed cells have 100% simultaneous peak traffic and thus idle compute resources are present during low traffic. These computational resources can be shared according to technology choices between multiple cells. Moreover, the virtualization of the network allows network functionalities, even from the core, to be virtual functions running on standard, capable hardware. Along with the trend to decouple the control from the user plane that has started in the packet data networks, the 3GPP has also worked on similar architectural holonic function control. However, the alternative control and data plane separation was put in the market by Alcatel-Lucent (now Nokia) promoted by NTT and followed by AT&T. The abstraction of the hardware where the protocol functionalities take execute can be compared to the use of Separation Kernel in secure systems. The Cloud RAN concept expands the virtual network functionalities by leveraging the higher decoupling concept of the Broadband Cloud. Based on a fully virtualized approach, it is the precursor to the O-RAN approach regarding the control, data plane separation. Moreover, it introduces the central status management of the network devices and cells. 2. Fundamentals of 5G Technology Fifth-generation mobile communications, commonly referred to as '5G', are positioned as a new technological revolution after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G. 5G is not just a single technology solution, but a set of cutting-edge mobile communication technologies, standards, and systems, standing at the peak of human communication technology and integrating new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data. The 5G system is characterized by eMBB (enhanced Mobile Broad-band), URLLC (Ultra-reliable and Low Latency Communications) and mMTC (massive Machine Type Communications). From the perspective of technical point of view, there are a lot of new technologies implemented in 5G. First of all, massive MIMO can provide more stable and faster signal services for users. Also, OFDM-based waveforms and new advanced PHY tasks can increase the energy efficiency for 5G base station. Moreover, uplink and downlink decoupling design basically can help with the separation of line tasks between BBU (Base Band Unit) and RRH (Remote Radio Head). Besides that, 5G Core will introduce Service Based Architecture (SBA) and Policy Control Function (PCF). These two updates are very important, which means it supports the 5G system to insert the different kind of slicing and uses to design different levels of QoS. The 5G network has many advantages like larger bandwidth, lower latency, higher spectrum, complete services, and advanced technology, standing at the peak of human communication technology. 5G's ultra-low latency of one millisecond transmission delay, 100 times faster data transmission speeds, and ten times higher connectivity have laid a solid foundation for the BAIOT (Blockchain-aided AIoT: when AI, IoT, and blockchain were applied). With 5G network communication in the era of big data, using BAIOT cutting-edge technology can help build a new online collaborative office management model, which can help a company reduce manual management and costs, increase efficiency, and reduce management risks in the new mode of the COVID-19 pandemic. With BAIOT cutting-edge technology, 5G network communication in the era of big data, along with the application of big data in new retail industries, the number of smart supermarket shelves exceeded 160,000 units, covering more than 22,000 supermarket stores. 5G network communication has been widely used in China for smart city AI urban management. 2.1. Key Features and Benefits While more words have been spent describing 5G, such as "hyper-connected society," "virtual reach," "tactile internet," "Internet of things," etc., there is no doubt about the fact that 5G technology becomes an industry enabler in all fields, both active and passive intelligence. Excellent spectrum management, sensor technology, beacons, and NFCs define IoT devices in the form of 5G technology. Nowadays, operational transformation still depends on how fast such networks operate and their coverage. But, you can say that necessity and inventions always drive technology for better improvement when there is reach each in optical speed. So here, we are and will be discussing the concept of 5G technology perspective only to provide a better understanding of the 5G era. Features of 5G Technology: - High bandwidth - Low latency rate - Huge capacity - Increased availability - Improved security - Greater role of GPS system - Dense deployment service in the form of small cell input - OFDM encoding and wireless world Wi-Fi - Internetwork service like IPV6 or control plane - More energy-efficient networks - Low cost by infrastructure and mobility offerings such as "Bring Your Own Device" - Vast possibility of cross and over world for developing wireless technologies within the low range of Kerala as "heavy license fee." Since it is in the development phase, no rules are available for smart mobile phones, and it is expected to launch in the year 2020. With RAN evolution, telephony moves from TDM to an IP-based network. Hence, new networks can dematerialize the complexities of the current network system. Super virtualization by Software Defined Networking (SDN) approach supports hierarchical levels as L1, L2, and L3. Such multi-levels help promoter, operator, and user-level functionalities. So, a promoter would suggest the next level possibilities, the operator makes the infrastructure readiness & manages the network resources, and it is being activated by the final user. In a recent RAN concept approach, the concept moves on to a separation plan for (data, computation) existing on our system. This evolved new telecommunication called Open RAN (O-RAN). 3. Traditional RAN vs. Open RAN The traditional radio access network (RAN) has a centralized model in which main components largely come from a sole vendor. The embedded software in the components is difficult to access and is often proprietary. In contrast, an Open RAN has an open, disaggregated, distributed, and virtualized software-defined architecture. Open RAN architecture restructures the traditional RAN such that the RAN is built upon software, open hardware, and disaggregated components with open interfaces. This, in turn, allows for the inclusion of components of an RAN that come from different vendors without leading to operational or performance conflicts. This open architecture of RAN delivers the functional characteristics of the traditional base stations as new, more flexible, and general-purpose components deployed in the edge computing sites. At the functional level, the major Open RAN entities are the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) or near edge cloud located at the edge site (adjacent to the far edge RUs), the far edge Radio Unit (RU) functionalities, and the user plane and control plane functionalities that are hosted at the remote data center. The transport network can carry services, whereas MEC services (UJE) are served by MEC hosts (MEC hosting the UJE needed functionalities) where different MEC hosts are placed in the different edge computing site. The far edge RUs communicate with the MEC RIC via the 'p7' interface while the MEC RIC communicates with each other via the 'A1' interface. The MEC hosts interact with each other via the A1 interface. Within an Open RAN network, the edge computing infrastructure intermediates the required data and services that are integrated into NCS as well as other MEC hosting resources, transport resources (network resource objective and resource access), and general network services. 3.1. Architecture Comparison Pre-5G networks were predominantly constructed using closed, proprietary RAN technologies with a focus on macro cellular deployments to address mobile broadband services. Closed RAN technologies are vertically integrated and are typically composed of nodes including baseband unit (BBU), distributed unit (DU), radio unit (RU), and core network components based on 3GPP standards (TS). Traditional RAN deployments tend to have a big footprint, require heavy fiber/transport network integration, and are much more costly to deploy, operate, and scale. The trend of disaggregation, where RAN functions have been disaggregated into base-band processing, radio functions, and network optimization, has been ongoing to enable tiered accessibility to next-generation components on standard server hardware. In its traditional incarnation, the open RAN architecture mimics the disaggregation between RAN components that their proprietary counterparts offer, with the additional option of sourcing network components independently on third-party servers or radio units. The already openness of open RAN provides additional features relating to handling these traffic classes and is generally more extensible and easier to evolve. In the open system, the intelligence has been brought closer to the radio through the virtualizing of RAN component functions in one place on standard server hardware. Research has shown that the effective placement of radio functions and the processing of radio signals can have a dramatic effect on ingestion and backhaul performance. In particular, for networks with a great deal of rich content being sent to server platforms or downloaded to users' client devices, many additional internal communications can be avoided by preferring to use an open system. By hosting mobile infrastructure closer to the wire, there's a greatly increased potential for collaborative, virtual systems to exist. All these interdependencies make virtualizing mobile network functions a much more complex enterprise to undertake. Fiware has recently joined open RAN interoperability in place on the same server hardware. Although Fiware offers a solid business case for networks that are delivering similar customer segments, it's worth reiterating again: the open RAN architecture heavily affects how the network gets deployed, operated, and scaled, and, in particular, where the open RAN architecture is advantageous in 5G networks. 4. Key Components of Open RAN Open RAN refers to the cloudification and decentralization of the RAN system. Open RAN systems use off-the-shelf servers and virtual machines, rather than hardware-based units, to power the primary eNodeB, radio units (RU), and DU. Other important information concerning Open RAN systems, such as control plane and user plane separation (CUPS) and network slicing, can be found in 3GPP RAN technical specifications (TSs), which are used in both Open RAN-N and LTE systems. According to the Open RAN Alliance (2021), all components of Open RAN are based on 3GPP's four-nodal network architecture that includes Central Unit (CU) in the control plane (CU-CP), Central Unit in the user plane (CU-UP), Distributed Unit (DU), and Radio Unit (RU). This includes the radio head, both remote and distributed ones, MAC and upper-layer functions of the eNodeB. From the figure, the main components for the definitions of the physical layer in the system are the radio units (RUs), which include remote radio units (RRUs) as well as distributed radio units (DRUs) connected to the DUs. The DUs are disaggregated from the CU in the EPC in the x86 platform, and both consist of a vBBU. Because of their significance, this paper also includes the virtualized RAN functions critical to Open RAN institutions. These components allow the interconnectedness of Open RAN and Radio (Industry) who control Open RAN for synchronization and traffic flow. Throughout synchronization, CU is mostly concerned with analog radio control. These devised inclinations are enabled by software-defined networking (SDN) and network functional virtualization (NFV), which have been implemented in many areas to help network operators run their networks using off-the-shelf computing devices. 4.1. Virtualized RAN Functions Many of us involved in pioneering architectures that dealt with virtualizing RAN functions were fascinated by the initially counterintuitive idea: consolidating disparate RAN elements onto a single physical server, or blades within the same chassis. Little would we know that our effort would resurrect a very old and almost-forgotten technique from data centers: time slicing. Commercial telecom operators had long deconstructed their RANs into discrete 'elements'. Single-purpose RAN equipment was built from the approved physical layer and MAC interfaces and radios. The elements were OEMs' building blocks, which wireless network manufacturers selected and integrated for a given RAN use case. We gave CSI managers a way to share their fixed, unlicensed microwave or satellite channel capacity without causing interference. This work coauthored by Paul Baran was presented in 1962 and called 'On Distributed Communication Networks'. It showed that statistical time division would allow the time presence of multiple independent conversations in almost the same fixed delay it would take if each conversation had an exclusive, dedicated path. While discoveries in theory were a generation ahead, commercial voice and data time slicing or frequency multiplexing was only feasible in the data centers. In time slices, servers decide which of multiple tasks are to be done next and allocate time on the resource - the prime examples were 1990s Ethernet switches. In co-location data centers, the proprietary circuit switches were used to link physically diverse users' active optical cross connects, routers and egresses PCEs to carriers' internal network. Today, new innovative approaches are driving the cutting-edge Open RAN revolution. ITIC providers reduce channel rendering into software to field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASIS) and more. More innovative approaches have maximized the 4G channel rendering software to make 5G field programmable RF (RFIC) in RUs. Software rendering for authentication is replaced by code downloads for opening up a mix between Cloud RAN, Centralized RAN, Virtual RAN and Open RAN. 5. Business Implications of Open RAN Open RAN resulting Capex savings and Opex efficiency: Vijay Thomas, VP of Rakuten Mobile U.S., shared during a Fireside Chat Open RAN will help drive a total cost of ownership (TCO) reduction ranging 20-35 percent, once any penalties are paid. Lesser said "we need to get down to being competitive" coming from a sub-$100 TCO per subscriber per year the wireless operator brought forth in Japan. Beyond TCO reduction, Thomas believes Open RAN will not merely be a means of deploying technology, but that deployment of such technology is in fact a business of change that will enable it to become a communications and engagement service provider for consumers. Through a modular design, he said operators can build an ecosystem enabling them to focus more on engaging with customers. Perez noted other telco representatives present in Japan echoed these sentiments. "We are setting the stage for Open RAN to change the competitive map" in telecom, Thomas predicted. "There will be new, wireless [Internet service] providers popping up and leveraging Open RAN technology to be able to compete in some surprising places". In closing, it's important to note that Open RAN is bigger than one individual payer—be it an incumbent or 4th carrier, wholesale or retail, wireline or wireless, rural or urban. In the US there will be plenty of service providers who will adopt Open RAN alongside a larger movement that leverages Open RAN to change the competitive map. Those that wait until Open RAN is proven from a deployment perspective and just as Capex and Opex efficient (i.e. safe) will be too late to leverage the full extent of the promise of Open RAN. For them, Open RAN is a Capex saving technology, for the proponents this is technology innovation and business transformation on a grand scale. 5.1. Cost Savings and Efficiency In 2019, Japan's largest mobile operator, NTT DOCOMO, commissioned a study from global consultancy, Analysys Mason. Entitled "A Vision of a Cost-Efficient 5G Network," the report modeled the potential cost benefits of Open RAN to a large international operator, estimating a significant reduction in network costs per site. This savings was primarily driven by the lower cost of hardware and the ecosystem effects of decoupling the RAN. The study estimated that, over 5 years, there could be a potential 49% reduction in the constrained cost of delivering an urban 5G site and a 43% reduction in both suburban and rural areas. So, the value of this investment migration from the Radio Access Network (RAN) to a Flexible Radio Access Network (FRAN) at a pace of value can be significant. A large part of the 5G investment that is carried out over the next five years will be on building vertical industry networks. This is the area of most uncertainty for the use of spectrum. We cannot confidently predict which industries would require dedicated 5G networks for key technologies like robotics, augmented reality, or digital twins. In each of these areas, the use of an Open RAN is important both in terms of giving connectivity and also providing the intelligent network management required to support a business-grade service. In these sectors particularly, we see the investment characterized by the requirement for innovative new solutions and capabilities. The Open RAN revolution creates an opportunity for such value migration that doesn't present with the other use cases. It is also worth noting that revolution or migration strategies are not mutually exclusive within an organization. Multiple strategies can be pursued in parallel. 6. Global Adoption and Case Studies It is clear from the previous sections that Open RAN technology is in practice in one way or another. Regardless of the underlying drivers in each nation or country, the same principles and concepts are being developed and actively deployed from regions to operators of the largest scale and with the most advanced networks, to developing nations with just a single, large mobile operator plus the need to connect rural communities. For that reason, the Open RAN technology is subsequently ported by vendors including modern and start-up, indigenous organisations, as well as many who hold rich histories in hardware and vertical industry. Nations in the Asia-Pacific hold a particular interest in the development of the Open RAN, as it speaks to the nature of the current infrastructure, the nature of the operator there, and the trend of mobile voice and data consumption and communication, such as video. A case study approach was taken to investigate the adoption of Open RAN concepts and technology in nations of interest, including Japan, New Zealand, India, and Timor-Leste. These nations were selected by the authors as an interesting cross-section of the Asia-Pacific. Japan has one of the most developed communication networks and hosts the largest mobile operator in the world in NTT DOCOMO. New Zealand, meanwhile, is coming off the back of an annual 2020 where national data traffic on mobile networks rose by 110%, year on year. In India, with villages becoming "smart," New Delhi will build its network with an eye on breaking new ground. Furthermore, New Delhi has massive plans around 2023 that would double Indonesia's economic size. In comparison, Timor-Leste is an emerging country, it is listed as an associated member of the GSMA, while Japan is an executive partner. Its network infrastructure is very much under-developed. Data was collected from public domains and not provided by companies or governments in table 10. 6.1. Asia-Pacific A. Introduction & APAC at a Glance Background on the state of RAN: APAC, where over five billion people live, is a melting pot of entrenched strategies and greenfield deployments. The region is perfectly poised to specify the accelerated rise and ramifications of Open RAN developments. This section showcases the top five APAC market share leaders to analyze 'Who's Where' and what strategies traditional OEMs have set for this revolution across consumer and enterprise market segments. B. Proprietary Open RAN Investments With varied roll-out strategies, OEMs are hedging their Open RAN bets. Some are becoming a part of independent RAN consortium, while others have invested in strategic RAN rollouts or have utilized ORAN to boost network element and core applications. We present case studies of these strategic moves to offer a glance at the momentum of the revolution happening in this space. Case Studies - Independent RAN deployment; MNO employed a third-party for ORAN: Rakuten Mobile in Japan has rolled out an end-to-end cloud-native mobile network; the first sophisticated commercial-grade Open RAN in the cloud; in an open supply chain. The network was end-to-end tested using the O-RAN profile of Xn interface and E2 interface for the variety of supported RLC/PHY splits as specified in open fronthaul. A distributed unit that can handle link aggregation has also been developed for this deployment. C. Spectrum Auctions in APAC Asia-Pacific is predominantly characterized by small countries which prominently feature in the list of most mission-critical rank of degradation in public trust and stringent lockdown measures. The small cells use case, a thriving sub-segment in richer more advanced economies in the APAC region such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand has experienced a severe backlash. Given the spectrum auctions in APAC, Open RAN penetration is likely to remain in low single digits at the end of 2021 as incumbent MNOs mostly deploy ORAN in organic incremental ways. 7. Challenges and Future Directions Open RAN (O-RAN or OpenRAN) is an acceleration. Attracting industrial companies does not mean that the obvious market value of O-RAN technology is not sufficient, it is necessary. Figure 1 presents the relationship between the trends of 5G, big data, and AI together with O-RAN's penetration rate. 5G is a new round of mobile value returns, and many new ideas will become feasible by cultivating new application participation motilities. In addition, the popularization of Internet of Things (IoT) creates more opportunities for the fifth generation of mobile communication systems. Despite the bright prospects of Open RAN, there are still some problems to be solved. First, Open RAN ecosystems face huge challenges in security, just like many new technologies. We cannot trust the integration of different parties. The traditional Telcos, including the GSMA and the TU founders, have formulated a top-down standard to control all RAN equipment that uses the spectrum. However, Open RAN breaks the traditional single-brand solution to promote multi-brand competition. Traditional solution is Tobias. One thing, but Open RAN does not rely on operator security due to its open operation. Another thing. To solve these problems, some companies are trying to build an Open RAN Federation, including Samsung, which has launched an end-to-end launch initiative. FICO's founding members accounted for commercial networks, including CYHUAWEI, Monican, Nokia, FICO, and Wind River. The goal of the Open RAN Federation is to create a level playing field, and together the security mechanism provides a more complete quality and protection process. From the perspective of developing countries, Open RAN has high agreement. Captive scenarios such as network construction in the army, police, etc. The sales of integrating Open RAN equipment into white-box servers will improve the ability of state-owned enterprises to respond to disasters. At present, many leading countries are actively promoting related demos. In addition, developing countries also face high public expectations while reducing investment in Open RAN equipment. For countries and regions with special needs, Europe has started to adopt Open RAN technology.
Security Concerns
Considering that the security of Open RAN is and will be an important issue, open interfaces may create additional opportunities for the potential deployment of malicious software and hardware. The potential attacker can be of several different types, including any entity who might be interested in conducting a cyber-attack upon the radio interfaces of the Open RAN deployments. Naturally, careful attention will need to be dedicated to addressing security risks related to Open RAN. Completing research in due time and addressing any risk that may be posed at a system level is hence important to make sure that the potential opportunities will not turn into exploitable vulnerabilities. Addressing security concerns related to Open RAN, including all the interfaces Open RAN networks are based on, hence, should become one of the main approaches adopted to accompany Open RAN deployment. This should not represent a hurdle against Open RAN, as numerous initiatives are focusing on the application of state-of-the-art security requirements and measures to 5G networks. Securing the network and the services enabled by them should also be complemented by efforts aimed at ensuring the resilience of Open RAN networks. This is a strategic tool to protect industrial and public communications from the applications of exploitable techniques, including those that can result in significant damages for the entire process. Overall, measures should mainly focus on the virtualized Cloud RAN environment, rather than those on radio access based on standardized interfaces whose security frameworks have already been put in place by industry. Only an integrated effort will lead to secure and manageable radio access network solutions. This seems important to ensure open and sustainable growth of the open radio access market in the long term.
Conclusion and Call to Action
Research from STL Partners confirms that Open RAN promises to drive increasing cost efficiencies. The study reveals that by 2026, Open RAN is expected to drive savings of USD 20 billion in Asia Pacific alone, constituting 20% of the total capital expenditure in the region.
The report says investment in Open RAN is quickly being seen as a way for CSPs to drive policy and create new business models, use cases, and broader market growth, as well as for cost efficiencies. STL Partners noted: "Open RAN has moved from a niche area towards the heart of the strategic consideration for investment in wireless networks." We have reviewed how Open RAN investment could facilitate in-market 'as-a-service' penetration. Examples include varied public and private sector partners in enterprise, industry consumer, critical National Infrastructure, and eMBB. It can support advanced new networks and designs with new cost structures and capabilities, all delivered over a single infrastructure. To foster the adoption of Open RAN and maintain its trajectory as a disruptive and transformative solution, it is crucial for existing and emerging industry participants to engage proactively, to help explore, pilot, and scale new Open RAN technologies, with the potential to expand and revolutionize network capacity for our digital future.
We must emphasize that proactive 'Secretariat led' JASCCGS, engaging CTOs and Open RAN thought leadership would expedite collaboration. Socialization of the OT Analysis and Network Study results in tandem with calls to action could deliver real solutions to achieving 2030 targets in a collaborative and inclusive manner. Let's create an open-for-all-RAIN revolution to Advance New revenue, Innovate networks, and Accelerate investment!
