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Assessment of Open Ran: Difference between revisions
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=== 1.Vodafone === | === 1.Vodafone === | ||
Although Vodafone is one of the pioneers of Open RAN, it only recently started deploying it in commercial areas. Vodafone has been testing Open Ran for over five years<ref>https://www.parallelwireless.com/wp-content/uploads/Parallel-Wireless-e-Book-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-about-Open-RAN.pdf<nowiki/>page.56</ref>. In 2019, it became the first operator to move Open Ran from the lab to the rural areas of South Africa and Turkey. That, too, became a success, and at the end of 2019, its CEO Nick Read said, “We are pleased with trials of OpenRAN and are ready to fast track it into Europe as we seek to actively expand our vendor ecosystem. OpenRAN improves the network economics enabling us to reach more people in rural communities and that supports our goal to build digital societies in which no-one is left behind.” In the same year also, Vodafone initiated Open Ran trials in the UK<ref>https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology-news/vodafone-pioneers-innovative-network-tech-to-increase-suppliers-and-extend-rural-internet-access</ref>. In January 2022, the company was able to switch to live deployment in Bath, Somerset, one of the 2,500 sites where Vodafone plans to deploy Open Ran at scale<ref>https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology/5g-open-ran-first-uk-site</ref>. It now plans to have 30% of its European base stations running on Open RAN by 2030<ref>https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology/vodafone-nokia-partner-advance-open-ran-ecosystem-europe</ref>. | Although Vodafone is one of the pioneers of Open RAN, it only recently started deploying it in commercial areas. Vodafone has been testing Open Ran for over five years<ref>https://www.parallelwireless.com/wp-content/uploads/Parallel-Wireless-e-Book-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-about-Open-RAN.pdf<nowiki/>page.56</ref>. In 2019, it became the first operator to move Open Ran from the lab to the rural areas of South Africa and Turkey. That, too, became a success, and at the end of 2019, its CEO Nick Read said, “We are pleased with trials of OpenRAN and are ready to fast track it into Europe as we seek to actively expand our vendor ecosystem. OpenRAN improves the network economics enabling us to reach more people in rural communities and that supports our goal to build digital societies in which no-one is left behind.” In the same year also, Vodafone initiated Open Ran trials in the UK<ref>https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology-news/vodafone-pioneers-innovative-network-tech-to-increase-suppliers-and-extend-rural-internet-access</ref>. In January 2022, the company was able to switch to live deployment in Bath, Somerset, one of the 2,500 sites where Vodafone plans to deploy Open Ran at scale<ref>https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology/5g-open-ran-first-uk-site</ref>. It now plans to have 30% of its European base stations running on Open RAN by 2030<ref>https://www.vodafone.com/news/technology/vodafone-nokia-partner-advance-open-ran-ecosystem-europe</ref>. | ||
=== 2. AT&T === | === 2. Telefonica === | ||
Telefonica is another operator that has been championing Open RAN deployments for over five years. In fact, in 2018, it launched Internet para Todos(IpT), a project aimed at connecting over 100 million unconnected individuals in Latin America(LATAM) region with the internet. The IpT is considered one of the largest Open Ran deployments in the world<ref>https://www.parallelwireless.com/wp-content/uploads/Parallel-Wireless-e-Book-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-about-Open-RAN.pdf<nowiki/>page.58,51</ref>. But despite its active role in Open Ran movements, Telefonica only recently started deploying it in a commercial setting. Last year, Telefonica said that beginning in 2022, it will deploy Open RAN in 800 commercial sites across its four main operating countries. Telefonica plans to have 50% of the new sites constructed between 2022 and 2025 based on Open RAN<ref>https://the-mobile-network.com/2021/09/telefonica-hands-nec-wider-role-in-open-ran-rollout/</ref>. | |||
=== 3. AT&T === | |||
Like Vodafone, AT&T is one of the proponents of Open RAN. It is one of the founders of the O-RAN Alliance, a movement founded in 2018 to promote an intelligent and open RAN. However, unlike Vodafone, AT&T has been shy to showcase its Open RAN efforts<ref>https://www.parallelwireless.com/wp-content/uploads/Parallel-Wireless-e-Book-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-about-Open-RAN.pdf<nowiki/>page.8</ref>. But a report released by Signals Research Group in 2020 indicated that AT&T had deployed Open RAN commercially in Dallas, United States<ref>https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/atandt-lights-up-open-ran-design-with-samsung-and-ericsson/d/d-id/763327</ref>. Its CTO, Andre Fuetsch, said in May 2022 that they are currently conducting proof of concept (POC) tests for Open RAN architecture and will only deploy it in small cells and private wireless networks before taking it to a macro level<ref>https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/atandt-testing-open-ran-but-cto-wont-offer-deployment-timelines/d/d-id/777632</ref>. | Like Vodafone, AT&T is one of the proponents of Open RAN. It is one of the founders of the O-RAN Alliance, a movement founded in 2018 to promote an intelligent and open RAN. However, unlike Vodafone, AT&T has been shy to showcase its Open RAN efforts<ref>https://www.parallelwireless.com/wp-content/uploads/Parallel-Wireless-e-Book-Everything-You-Need-to-Know-about-Open-RAN.pdf<nowiki/>page.8</ref>. But a report released by Signals Research Group in 2020 indicated that AT&T had deployed Open RAN commercially in Dallas, United States<ref>https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/atandt-lights-up-open-ran-design-with-samsung-and-ericsson/d/d-id/763327</ref>. Its CTO, Andre Fuetsch, said in May 2022 that they are currently conducting proof of concept (POC) tests for Open RAN architecture and will only deploy it in small cells and private wireless networks before taking it to a macro level<ref>https://www.lightreading.com/open-ran/atandt-testing-open-ran-but-cto-wont-offer-deployment-timelines/d/d-id/777632</ref>. | ||
=== | === 4. Inland Cellular === | ||
Inland Cellular is a small US telecommunications operator that has started deploying Open RAN in its 4G network. It provides wireless services to more than 35,000 subscribers in the US. According to its EVP Chip Damato, deploying Open RAN will help them reduce costs by 40% and provide a mechanism to expand to 5G in future<ref>https://www.rcrwireless.com/20200630/open_ran/inland-cellular-using-openran-in-idaho</ref>. Inland Cellular is already deploying a live commercial Open RAN network in the US<ref>https://www.rcrwireless.com/20211230/opinion/readerforum/open-ran-adoption-accelerates-in-2022-and-beyond-a-growing-ecosystem-reader-forum</ref>. | Inland Cellular is a small US telecommunications operator that has started deploying Open RAN in its 4G network. It provides wireless services to more than 35,000 subscribers in the US. According to its EVP Chip Damato, deploying Open RAN will help them reduce costs by 40% and provide a mechanism to expand to 5G in future<ref>https://www.rcrwireless.com/20200630/open_ran/inland-cellular-using-openran-in-idaho</ref>. Inland Cellular is already deploying a live commercial Open RAN network in the US<ref>https://www.rcrwireless.com/20211230/opinion/readerforum/open-ran-adoption-accelerates-in-2022-and-beyond-a-growing-ecosystem-reader-forum</ref>. | ||