Between2022and2030,theOPENRANmarketispredictedtobedominatedby5G,witha$22billion Marketvalueandagrowthrateof52%. SmallcellsandmacrocellsintheOPENRANradiounit(RU)isexpectedtocontribute$7.5billionand $2.4billionTAM,respectively,by2030. TheOPENRANmarketforsuchcellsisexpectedtoexpandby46%fromitscurrentvalueof$327million. In2030,theOPENRANmarketispredictedtobedominatedbytheAsiaPacificregion,whichwillholda 35%share. TelefonicasaysOpenRANwillbeimplementedinhalfofthenetworkby2022-2025. Orangesays,In2024Bleu(ajointventureofCapgeminiandOrange)willlaunchitsinitialservices,which includeMicrosoftAzureandMicrosoft365. AsperReportLinker,theglobalOpenRANmarketisexpectedtogrowatacompoundannualgrowthrate (CAGR)of70.5%from$1.1billionin2022to$15.6billionby2027.TheOpenRANmarketisgrowingdue tobenefitssuchassolutionflexibility,lowercosts,andsupplychaindiversity. AsperDell’OrogroupreportonOpenRAN,Toreflectthehigherbaseline,short-termprojectionshave beenrevisedupward-OpenRANisnowexpectedtoaccountfor6to10%oftheRANmarketin2023. AccordingtoSNSTelecom&IT,globalspendingonRICplatforms,xApps,andrAppswillreach$120 millionin2023asearlyimplementationsprogressfromfieldtrialstoproduction-gradeinstallations. Withcommercialmaturity,thesubmarketisfurtherpredictedtoquintupletoalmost$600Millionbythe endof2025. Servicesactivitieswouldaccountfor38%oftotalrevenueintheOpenRANvaluechain,followedbyRAN hardware(24%),Cloud(18%),Semiconductors(11%),andRANsoftware(9%). By2026,aglobalmarketworthEUR36.1billioninsupplierrevenuesfromOpenRANwillbeopen,anditis expectedtogrowevenfasterafterthat. AtaCompoundAnnualGrowthRate(CAGR)of16.3%,theworldwidecloudcomputingmarketispredicted toincreasefrom$445.3billionin2021to$947.3billionby2026. AccordingtotheMordorIntelligencereport,thetelecomcloudmarketwasvaluedat$25.33billionin 2020andisexpectedtoreach$74.36billionby2026. MajoritybelieveOpenRANwillmatchtraditionalmobilesystemsby2024. AT&TbecameoneofthefirstmobileoperatorstoinvestinOpenRAN-alignedRICfunctionalityand accompanyingapps,notablyxAppsforreal-timeRANmanagementandoptimization.Since2019,the operatorhasbeenworkingwithNokiaandotherpartnerstoco-developaRICsoftwareplatformand identifyxAppusecases,inaccordancewiththeO-RANAlliancearchitecture,toenableRAN programmabilityforeasyintegrationofnewservices,aswellasAIandML(MachineLearning)-driven algorithmsforautomatedoptimization.Themobileoperatorisnowtestinginterferencecontrol,traffic directing,andenergy-savingxAppsacrossa200-cellsiteclusterinNewJersey. KeyTakeaways

KeyTakeaways 50OpenRANDeploymentsandTrailsgoingonworldwide. TheUSDepartmentofCommercehassetaside$1.5billionforthegrowthofOpenRAN. O-RANalliancespecificationadoptedbyETSI. Rakutenhasdeployedtheworld’slargestOpenRANcoveragewithover275,000cellsmanagedbyateamofonly 250peoplewhoarepoweredbySymworld.(Link-https://symphony.rakuten.com/open-ran/network-transformation) InSriLankaandMalaysia,thisisthefirstandonlyOpenRANnetwork.FirstcommerciallyoperationalOpenRAN solutionwithsatellitebackhaul.FirstcommercialdeploymentofEvenstarSplit7.2.RadioUnit(RU). AirtelhadliveOpenRANsitesinPunjabtrials.Inaddition,theywerepleasantlysurprisedbytheoutcomes.Itwas satisfactory.AndnowAirtel'slaboratoriesinManesararehometoadditionalversions.Bythesecondhalfof2023, OpenRANvolumeshouldbegintoincrease. RelianceJio,India'slargesttelecomplayer,istestingitsown5GOpenRANsolutionsinseveralIndiancities. Beginninginearly2023,Vodafonewillrunacommercialpilotof5GOpenRadioAccessNetwork(RAN)atmobile sitesintworuralareasinGermany,itslargestEuropeanmarket. OpenRANrevenuestoaccountformorethan10%oftheoverallindustryby2025,asperDell'OroGroup’sprediction of$15billionfrom2020to2025. AstheopenRANecosystemexpands,thetelecomindustrywillreapthebenefitsofotherindustries. IntheITindustry,forinstance,keyplayersandfast-growingstartupsareenteringthevirtualizationand intelligencemarketswiththeirrespectivestrengthsandtechnologies. FutureevolutionandintegrationoftheopenRANecosystemintoalargerecosystemoftelecommunications andITinfrastructuresmayoccurthroughthesharingofserversandvirtualizationinfrastructureswith transportnetworks,corenetworks,andITsystems. InIndia,everytelcoisnotonlyatelecomserviceproviderbutisbecomingadigitalserviceproviderwhichis whereOpenRANwillplayasignificantrole.Itwilleventuallybecomeagamechangerinthe telecomindustrywiththeonsetof5G. FutureofOpenRAN

KeyTakeaways Telefónica'sGermanbusinessunithasintegratedaNokia-suppliedRICintoitslivecommercialnetwork, initiallycomprising11RANnodesenabling5GNR,LTE,and2GcoverageinBerlin'sHellersdorf neighborhood. BTGroupistestingNokia'sOpenRANstandards-compliantRICplatformacrossanumberoflocationsin Hull(EastRidingofYorkshire,England)tomaximizenetworkperformanceforEEmobilenetwork consumers.Orange,theFrenchtelecomscompany,isalsostudyingOpenRANstandards-compliantRIC, xApps,andrAppsfrommultipleproviders. ChinaMobilehasalsocollaboratedwithanumberofequipmentmanufacturersandthird-partyprovidersto createanddeployOpenRANstandards-compliantRIC,xApps,andrApps.Amongotherthings,themobile operatorhasworkedwithNokiaonafieldexperimentofanAI-poweredRANacrossitslivecommercialLTE and5GNRnetworkinfrastructure.ThestudyespeciallytestedAI-basedUEtrafficpredictioninShanghai andanML-enablednetworkanomalydetectionsolutionspanningover10,0004G/5GcellsinTaiyuan. DISHNetworkCorporationistestingVMware'sRICasaplatformforrunningRANapplications.DISHwill assessVMware'sRICespeciallyonitsabilitytogenerateuniquesolutionsfromarobustecosystemof xAppsandrApps,employRANprogrammabilityandintelligencefornetworkautomation,andboost securitytomonitorandsafeguardRANtrafficasitentersthenetworkthroughoutthetrial.

ChallengesinOpenRANanditsDeployment OpenRANwillbeacriticalpartof5G.But,thereareamultitudeofchallengesintheroadtotheimplementationof OpenRANwithissuesrangingfromoperationsandmaintenanceservicestolatencytonetworksecurity. InanOpenRANnetwork,operationsandmaintenanceinamulti-vendorecosystemcouldbeabigchallenge.Theskill setsthatwillberequiredtoactuallymanagethismulti-vendorecosystemissomethingthatneedstobecarefully lookedat,accordingtoexperts.Skillsettrainingwillbecomeanimportantpartinsuchanetwork. Therearemultipleothertechnologies,-2G,3G,4G,andnow5Gcomingin...evenifatelcoisimplementinganopen RAN,ithastobenotonlyinteroperablewithreferencetothemultipleecosystempartnersthatarerequiredfor5Gbut alsothetransitionbetweenprevioustechnologiesandthealreadyexistingspectrum. Also,OpenRANhasnotbeenfullytested,ithasbeenpartiallytestedandthetestresultsobviouslyshowyougood results,butwehavetoseewhenitisactuallyimplemented.“Withsomanyplayersintheecosystembeing interoperable,thereisanexpectedimpactonthelatency,soithastobetestedoverawiderpopulation.Though networktestresultsdoshowthatthelatencyisbeingmanaged,”hesaid. Theneedtodealandnegotiatewithmultiplevendors/providersofsoftwareinsteadofrelyingonasinglenetwork playerlikeEricsson,Nokia,Huawei,ZTEetc,whooffercompletesolutions.Itmightalsoneedareviewofthecurrent practiceoftelcosoutsourcingnetworkstotechnologyplayerslikeEricsson,Nokia,etc. TherealchallengeistocreateanAI/MLframeworkthatismultidomain,andthatyoucanleverageforOpenRAN. Globally,theopenRANmarketisstillinitsinfancy.Thereiscurrently35activeopenRANdeploymentsacrossthe globe,manyofwhichinvolveMNOstestingopenRANingreenfield,rural,andemergingmarkets.Deploymentsare startingslowly.Itmaytakeanywherefrom5to6yearsforthetechnologytofullymaturebutopenRANadoption shouldacceleraterapidly,asperareportfromDeloitte. OpenRAN,despiteitsmassivepotential,willnotbeagamechangerintheshortterm.AnInsufficientroll-outoffiber isakeybarriertothevirtualizationthatOpenRANenables. TopDriversforAdoptingOpenRAN Source:AnalysysMason

OpenRANSummitPollResult MajoritybelieveOpenRANwillmatchtraditionalmobilesystemsby2024. Butstillabout20%believeparitywillbeyearsawayorneverhappen Source:telecomtv.com WhenwillanOpenRANarchitecturebeabletodeliveranequipmentcarrier-grade performancetothatoftraditionalradioaccessnetworksystemsfor2G/3G/4G/5G? Companiesandgovernmententitieswillcertainlycontinuetorequire: Computer, Storage, Networkinginfrastructurecapacity; Explorehybridcloud-basedarchitectures Tosustainexistingmarketshareandmakeadvancestowardmakingnewgains, ITinfrastructure Enhancedmanagement Orchestration,security Hybridarchitecture Companiesintheretailmayhaveanimmediateneedto Ide-risktheirbalancesheets, ShiftCAPEXspendingtoOPEXwhenfeasible,identifystrategiestoscaleupanddowntheir serviceandcoststructures. CustomerDemandsinFuture

CloudComputingMarket AtaCompoundAnnualGrowthRate(CAGR)of16.3%,theworldwidecloudcomputingmarketispredictedtoincrease from$445.3billionin2021to$947.3billionby2026. Cloudcomputingenablesbusinessestostore,manage,andprocessessentialdataonremotecomputershostedon theinternet. AccordingtotheMordorIntelligencereport,thetelecomcloudmarketwasvaluedat$25.33billionin2020andis expectedtoreach$74.36billionby2026. Examples: Lebara,eliminateditsLondon-baseddatacenterand adoptedamulti-cloudstrategyinvolvingAWSand Azure. N-iXhasledLabara’scloudtransformation andthecreationofscalable,easy-to-manage, andcost-effectivecloudsolutions. RevenueForecastComparisonforPublicNetworks

CustomerFutureDemandsInOpenRAN Servicesactivitieswouldaccountfor38%oftotalrevenueintheOpenRANvaluechain,followedbyRAN hardware(24%),Cloud(18%),Semiconductors(11%),andRANsoftware(9%). By2026,aglobalmarketworthEUR36.1billioninsupplierrevenuesfromOpenRANwillbeopen,anditis expectedtogrowevenfasterafterthat. Source:Vodafone VendorRevenuesinEuropeforOpenRANfrom 2020upto2026

RelativeRevenueofOpenRANCategoriesUpto2026 Source:SNSTelecom&IT AccordingtoSNSTelecom&IT,globalspendingonRICplatforms,xApps,andrAppswillreach$120millionin 2023asearlyimplementationsprogressfromfieldtrialstoproduction-gradeinstallations.Withcommercial maturity,thesubmarketisfurtherpredictedtoquintupletoalmost$600Millionbytheendof2025. ThebroaderSONmarket,whichincludeslicensingofembeddedD-SONfeatures,third-partyC-SONfunctions andassociatedOSSplatforms,in-houseSONcapabilitiesinternallydevelopedbymobileoperators,and SON-relatedprofessionalservicesacrosstheRAN,mobilecore,andtransportdomains,isanticipatedtogrow ataCAGRofapproximately7%overthesametimeframe. Newersuppliers,rangingfromVMware,JuniperNetworks,andotherRICplatformproviderstox/rApp specialistslikeasCohereTechnologies,DeepSig,GroundhogTechnologies,Subex,B-Yond,NetAI,andRIMEDO Labs,arebeginningtoemerge OpenRANRIC,xAppsandrAppsa$600Million Opportunity

Dell’OroGroupReportonOpenRAN Samsung,Fujitsu,NEC,andMavenirarethetopfourOpenRANrevenuesuppliersforthe1Q22-3Q22period. Trialsareincreasingglobally,butNorthAmericaandAsiaPacificcontinuetodominatethecommercialrevenue mix,accountingformorethan95percentofthemarketduringthe1Q22-3Q22period. NorthAmericaaccountsformorethan80%ofyear-to-dategrowth,thankstolarge-scalenon-MassiveMIMOand MassiveMIMOmacrodeployments. Sofar,theriseofOpenRANhashadlittleimpactontheoverallRAN(proprietaryandOpenRAN)market concentration.Accordingtothereport'sdata,thetopfiveRANsuppliers(Huawei,Ericsson,Nokia,ZTE,and Samsung)collectivelylostlessthanonepercentagepointbetween2021and1Q22-3Q22. Toreflectthehigherbaseline,short-termprojectionshavebeenrevisedupward-OpenRANisnowexpectedto accountfor6to10%oftheRANmarketin2023.However,openRANgrowthratesareexpectedtoslow, reflectingthepossibilitythatthesumofnewbrownfielddeploymentswillbeabletooffsetmoredifficult comparisonswithearlyadopters. Between2022and2030,theOPENRANmarketispredictedtobedominatedby5G,witha$22billion Marketvalueandagrowthrateof52%. SmallcellsandmacrocellsintheOPENRANradiounit(RU)isexpectedtocontribute$7.5billionand $2.4billionTAM,respectively,by2030. TheOPENRANmarketforsuchcellsisexpectedtoexpandby46%fromitscurrentvalueof$327million. In2030,theOPENRANmarketispredictedtobedominatedbytheAsiaPacificregion,whichwillholda 35%share. Alargergrowthrateofmorethan45%ispredictedforNorthAmericaandEurope,eventhoughtheir respectiveshareswillbe31%and26%in2030. AppledoreResearchexpectsOpenRANspendingbytelcostohit$11.2billionin2026. OpenRANMarket

OpenRANMarket AsperReportLinker,theglobalOpenRANmarketisexpectedtogrowatacompoundannualgrowthrate(CAGR)of 70.5%from$1.1billionin2022to$15.6billionby2027.TheOpenRANmarketisgrowingduetobenefitssuchas solutionflexibility,lowercosts,andsupplychaindiversity. Asia-PacificiscomprisedofboomingeconomiessuchasSingapore,Japan,China,India,andAustralia,whichare anticipatedtoexhibitrapidmarketexpansionforOpenRAN.RakutenMobile,NTTDocomo,KDDI,RelianceJio, BhartiAirtel,Vodafone,andothersareparticipatingandcontributingtoOpenRANtechnologyintheAsia-Pacific area,whichisfuelingthemarketgrowth.TheAsia-PacificOPENRANmarketisprojectedtoreach$11.5billionby 2030,expandingataCAGRof34%between2022and2030.IntheAsia-Pacificarea,Japanisexpectedtoleadthis industry,butChinawilltaketheleadby2030. By2030,smallcellsandmicrocellsareanticipatedtoprovide$7.5billionand$2.4billionTAM,respectively,tothe OPENRANradiounit(RU).Fromthepresentmarketsizeof$327MforsuchcellsintheOPENRANmarket,therewill beamassivegrowthof46%. OpenRANrevenuestoaccountformorethan10%ofthe overallindustryby2025,asperDell'OroGroup’s predictionof$15billionfrom2020to2025. ThecollaborationbetweenVodafone,Samsung,andMarvellisasignificantsteptowardsanecosystemthat fostersinnovationandacceleratesthedeploymentofOpenRANtechnologiesinEurope. ByintegratingMarvell'spowerfulSystem-on-a-Chip(SoC)technology,whichhasbeenspecificallydesignedfor OpenRAN,intothemostrecentstandardCommercial-Off-The-Shelf(COTS)servers,smartphonecustomersare providedwithafastandstable5Gconnectionutilizingnewopenarchitecture. Vodafone,SamsungandMarvellAccelerate OpenRANPerformanceandAdoption

VodafonewithOpenRAN Beginninginearly2023,Vodafonewillrunacommercialpilotof5GOpenRadioAccessNetwork(RAN)atmobile sitesintworuralareasinGermany,itslargestEuropeanmarket. Followingearlierthisyear'ssuccessfulfieldtestsinPlauen,Germany,Vodafoneisnowpreparedtohelpthe Germangovernment'sgoalofexpandingtheOpenRANecosystem. UsingsoftwareandradioequipmentfromSamsung,Vodafone'sOpenRANexperimentwillbeconductedinthe GermanstatesofSouth-EastBavariaandNorth-East LowerSaxony,markingthebeginningofalarger rolloutinGermanyoverthenexttwotothree years.ThisisacrucialstepinVodafone's aimtoequip30%ofitsEuropean stationswithOpenRANby2030. RelianceJio,India'slargesttelecomplayer,istestingitsown5GOpenRANsolutionsinseveralIndiancities. JioPlatformshascollaboratedwithchipmakersQualcommandNXPtodevelopvirtualizedRANandsmall cellstosupportits5Gnetwork,allowingforavarietyofusecasessuchasfixedwirelessaccess(FWA). Forconsumerstoexperience5G,Jioisdeployingamixof700MHzspectrumand3.5GHzfrequencies. JiohasworkedwithQualcommandNXPforvirtualizedRAN(vRAN)toserveavarietyofusecases, includingfixedwirelessaccess(FWA),andisalsotestingitsown5GopenRAN. GoogleCloudwillofferanend-to-endcloudsolutionforthecompletelyautomatedlifecycle managementofJio's5Gnetworkandservices. JiowithOpenRAN

AirtelwithOpenRAN AirtelclaimsthatitsOpenRANstrategyisthoroughandthatitwillbeapartofthe5Gnetworkbytheendof2023 asthetechnologyisstillmaturingandcostreductionwilltaketime. AirtelhadliveOpenRANsitesinPunjabtrials.Inaddition,theywerepleasantlysurprisedbytheoutcomes.Itwas satisfactory.AndnowAirtel'slaboratoriesinManesararehometoadditionalversions.Bythesecondhalfof2023, OpenRANvolumeshouldbegintoincrease. AirtelandFacebook-ownedMetarecentlyannouncedacollaborationtoimprovetheoperationalefficiencyofOpenRAN. Airtel,alongwithMeta,hasbeenamemberoftheTelecomInfraProject(TIP)OpenRANprojectgroup. TocreateequipmentemployingOpenRANtechnology,AirtelcollaboratedwithcompaniessuchasTaiwan'sSercom, US-basedMavenir,Xilinx,Japan'sAltiostar,andNEC. Airtelhasawarded5GnetworkcontractstoEuropeanvendorsEricsson andNokia,aswellasSamsungofSouthKorea. BhartiAirtelandMavenir,havevalidatedIndia'sfirst5Gnetwork basedonanopenradioaccessnetwork(OpenRAN)usinga 3500MHzbandtestspectrum. vRANsmallcellswithSercommandopenRANinthemacro networkwithAltiostarhavebeendeployedbyBharti Airteltoboostindoorcoverage. AirtelhasformedastrategicagreementwithTataGroupand TCStoconstruct5GnetworksbasedonOpenRANtechnology, tolaunchproductsandsolutionsinIndiafirstbeforeexpandingto therestoftheglobe. AirtelandMavenirconductedopenRAN-based5Gnon-standalone(NSA)validationinChandigarhandMohaliusingthe 3500MHzbandspectrumallocatedtoAirtelfortestingpurposesbytheDepartmentofTelecommunications(DoT). Telefonica OpenRANwillbeimplementedinhalfofthenetworkby2022-2025. TopromotetheOpenRANarchitectureinthedevelopmentofappropriate5GRANarchitectures, TelefonicaandRakutenMobileinkedaresearchandlabtrialagreementinSeptember2020. ItworkedwithMavenir,DenseAir,andWaveMobiletoimplementO-RANprojects. Orange OnJune22,2022,CapgeminiandOrangeannouncedthatBleu,theirupcomingjointventurewill offerdependablecloudservices(dubbed"ClouddeConfiance"). In2024,Bleuwilllaunchitsinitialservices,whichincludeMicrosoftAzureandMicrosoft365. Vodafone IntheUnitedKingdomandIndia,ithasteamedupwithMavenir. SamsungvRANisnowbeingrolledoutintheUnitedKingdom. GlobalDeploymentofOpenRAN

DeploymentofOpenRANintheUnitedStates InlandCellular UsingaTIPOpenRANsolution,InlandCellularwasabletodeliver4Gservicescommerciallyandlaythegroundwork forfutureOpenRANbased5Gservices. VerizonCellular VerizonaimstoemployOpenRANequipmenttobuilda5Gnetworkintheband'sC-bandandmmWavespectrum. Verizonwillinvest$10billionover3yearstobuilda 5Gnetworkusing$53billioninthe C-bandspectrumitboughtatanFCC auction. SamsungandEricsson5GvRANs arebeingusedbyVerizon. InSriLankaandMalaysia,thisisthefirstandonlyOpenRANnetwork. FirstcommerciallyoperationalOpenRANsolutionwithsatellitebackhaul. FirstcommercialdeploymentofEvenstarSplit7.2.RadioUnit(RU). Axiata,incollaborationwithParallelWireless,successfullytestedthefirstandonlyOpenRANnetworksinSri Lanka,offeringboth2Gand4Ginternetconnection,throughitsoperatingcompanyDialogAxiata. ThesolutionsofParallelWirelessenabledtheinstallationof2Gand4Gtechnologyonthesameradiounits,with basebandsonacommercial-off-the-shelf(COTS)x86platformandallotherapplicationsonAxiata'sOpenStack cloudinfrastructure. Thefieldexperimentsthatincluded3-Sector,4-Sector,and6-Sectorlocationsoperatedsuccessfullyandproved superiornetworkperformanceinordertoincreaseserviceagility. AxiataPartnerswithInfosystoCommercialize OpenRANforNetworkLeadershipAcross EmergingAsia

DeutscheTelekom DeutscheTelekomlaterconstructedan"O-RANTown"inNeubrandenburgwhereitcouldtestthetechnologyat around25locationsbeforedeployingitacrossthenation. DeutscheTelekomiscontinuingintheprocessofqualifyingopenRANprovidersinpreparationforcommercial deploymentin2023/24. DeutscheTelekom,Germany'sbiggestoperator,hasbeenusingitfortrialsofopenRAN(orO-RAN),themost voguishthinginradiosinceHedyLamarr. By2023,itwantsO-RANtobea"commercialoption,"saysClaudiaNemat,DeutscheTelekom'sheadoftechnology andinnovation. DT(DeutscheTelekom)ishostingtheSD-RANoutdoorfieldtrialinBerlin,Germany,that integratestheONF’s(OpenNetworkingFoundation)nearreal-timeRICand end-to-end5GplatformwithOpenRANcomponentsfromvariousvendors, includingxAppsforcontrollingRUs(RadioUnits),DUs(DistributedUnits) andCUs(CentralUnits).Aspartofaseparateeffort,DThasbeen collaboratingwithVMwareandIntelCorporationtodevelop,test,and validateanopen-standardscompliantintelligentvRANsolution,whichalso featuresaRICelement. 1&1usedthechancegivenbystartingfromscratchtodevelopamobilenetworktogoall-inwithOpenRAN, followinginthefootstepsofRakuteninJapanandDishintheUS. OnDecember28th,2022,1&1launchesthefirstOpenRANmobilenetworkinEurope.Thecompanyassertsthat itsnetworkisthefirstcloud-basedOpenRANsystemusing4Gand5Gtechnology. The1&1networkutilizesDELLandSupermicroservers,Ciscorouters,Rakuten,Mavenir,andAltiostarsoftware, andNECandCommunicationsComponentsantennas. 1&1aimstocover50percentofallhouseholdsbytheendof2030andwilldosobydeployingaround12,600 radiotowersandover500regionaldatacentres. ThefirstthreeantennasitesarebeingactivatedinFrankfurtamMainandKarlsruhe,50othersiteshavebeen constructedinHamburg,Essen,Düsseldorf,Wiesbaden,Mainz,Munich,andFreiburg,andthefacilitieswill graduallybeginoperatingoverthenextweeks. AstheonlyEuropeanoperatorattemptingtoblanketanentirecountrywithopenRAN,1&1isbeingkeenly monitored. 1&1

JapanOTIC NTTDocomo,KDDI,SoftBank,andRakutenMobilehavepartneredontheestablishmentofanewtestingand certificationcentre,branded"JapanOTIC[opentestingandintegrationcentre]",whichwillfocusonOpenRAN networkelementsthatadheretoO-RANAlliancecriteria. Thecentre,whichissupportedbytheYRPResearchandDevelopmentPromotionAssociation(whichpromotesR&D ICTinitiatives),wouldserveas"aneutral andopeninteroperabilityverification environment."Japan'sITand telecomtechnologysupplychain willbe"opened,revitalised, diversified,andexpanded abroad,"andRakuten Mobilewillcampaign for"amoreopen, dependable,andsecure5G telecomssocietynotonlyin Japanbutglobally." 13globalvendorspromotingOREC FusingDOCOMO’Sknow-howandthestrengthsofmajorglobalvendorsfromeachindustry, DOCOMOwilloffervRANthatmeetsthevariousdemandsfromoverseascarriers. Source:NTTDocomo Source:NTTDocomo OREC(5GOpenRANEcosystem)isaprojectlaunchedbyDOCOMOand12globalvendorsinFebruary2021to promotetheadoptionofopenRANs.AnewvendorjoinedtheprojectinOctober2021,bringingthetotalnumberof vendorsto13. OperatorsmustaddresscertainchallengesinordertoachievegoodperformanceinopenRAN,including virtualizedRAN(vRAN),andsomeofthesechallengescanonlyberesolvedthroughinteroperabilitytesting.Given theseconsiderations,DOCOMO'sgoalistopackagebest-of-breedRANandintroduce,operate,andmanagethemin responsetooperatordemandforopenRANintroduction. DOCOMOiscommittedtomaximizingcompanies'strengthinfurtheranceoftheORECandprovidinghigh-quality andflexiblenetworksbyleveragingitsyearsofactivitiesindrivingopennetworksandknow-how. NTTDocomoOREC:5GOpenRANEcosystem

NTTDocomoOREC:5GOpenRANEcosystem Source:NTTDocomo RakutenSymphony:ZeroTouchNetworkDeployment Source:Tecknexus

Rakuten Source:RakutenSymphony Rakutenhasdeployedtheworld’slargestOpenRANcoveragewithover275,000cells managedbyateamofonly250peoplewhoarepoweredbySymworld. ProvingOpenRANisready,canbescaled,andcanprovidehigh-densitycoverageinurbanareas. RakutenMobile'sfirstOpenRANmobilenetworkinJapanreceivesanumlautScoreof945dots outof1000,whichisconsidered"verygood”. RakutenMobileperformscompetitivelywiththeleadingoperatorsinalltestedcitiesinTokyo. RakutenMobilecompeteswiththeleadingoperatorsinalltestedcitiesintermsofspeedand coverage. Inalltestedcities,theRakutenMobilenetworkhasroomforimprovementinlatencywhen comparedtoleadingoperators. Rakuten Source:RakutenSymphony

OpenRANCurrentTrend OpenRANhasbeenrankedfirstintermsof5GRANinvestmentpriorities.Thisisnotsurprising, giventhatthepromisesmadeaboutopenRANintermsofOPEXandCAPEXsavings,combined withglobalsupply-chainchallenges,almostguaranteethatopenRANwillcommandattention. However,astrialsanddeploymentsprogress,itbecomesclearthatopenRANisnotalwaysless expensivethancompetingsolutions.Meanwhile,supportfromthetoptierofnetwork infrastructuresuppliers-Ericsson,Huawei,Nokia,Samsung,andZTE-isscant. Ecosystemsuppliers(particularlysiliconsuppliersandinnovators)willintroduceinnovations topropelopenRANforward,butCFOprioritiesarounddeploymentcostsandthetimerequiredto transforminnovationintomaturesolutionswilldampen,ifnotkill,openRANenthusiasm. Telefónica'sGermanbusinessunithasintegratedaNokia-suppliedRICintoitslivecommercial network,initiallycomprising11RANnodesenabling5GNR,LTE,and2GcoverageinBerlin's Hellersdorfneighborhood. BTGroupistestingNokia'sOpenRANstandards-compliantRICplatformacrossanumberof locationsinHull(EastRidingofYorkshire,England)tomaximizenetworkperformanceforEE mobilenetworkconsumers.Orange,theFrenchtelecomscompany,isalsostudyingOpenRAN standards-compliantRIC,xApps,andrAppsfrommultipleproviders. ChinaMobilehasalsocollaboratedwithanumberofequipmentmanufacturersandthird-party providerstocreateanddeployOpenRANstandards-compliantRIC,xApps,andrApps.Among otherthings,themobileoperatorhasworkedwithNokiaonafieldexperimentofanAI-powered RANacrossitslivecommercialLTEand5GNRnetworkinfrastructure.Thestudyespecially testedAI-basedUEtrafficpredictioninShanghaiandanML-enablednetworkanomalydetection solutionspanningover10,0004G/5GcellsinTaiyuan. RecentDevelopmentsinOpenRAN

OpenRAN DeploymentandMarketShareofOpenRAN MOSSteamOpenRANprovidewiderangeanditsproven E2EServicestoaccelerate5Gandothertechnology deploymentwithcosteffectivesolution.

OpenRANTrailsandDeployments Source:TelecomInfraProject Source:Tecknexus CurrentStateofOpenRANDeployments

OpenRANMilestonesin2022 DishLaunches5GOpenRAN-DishandOpenRANbothsucceed. TheautumnplugfestoftheORANalliancegrewfrom50to106companies. UKgovestablisheda£25millionOpenNetworksR&DFundtoaccelerateOpenRAN. TheUSDepartmentofCommercehassetaside$1.5billionforthegrowthofOpenRAN. TheUnitedKingdomlaunchedOpenRANprinciples,whicharenowsupportedbytheUnitedStates, Canada,andAustralia. O-RANalliancespecificationadoptedbyETSI. Allnetworkpieces,"includingproprietaryandopenRAN,"facepersistentsecuritychallenges. NTTDocomohaslaunchedtheORECLAB. WithRadisys,Capgemini,Fujitsu,andMavenir,NTIAandCableLabscompletethefirst5GChallenge. 1&1partners,RakutenSymphony,startedtheoperationofthefirstantennasanddatacentersinthe firsthalfof2022. ThecompletionofOrangeEgypt'sMediationConsolidation,Upgrade,andModernizationwas announcedbyEricssonandOrangeEgyptinJune2022.Byfilteringirrelevantdata,Ericssonwasabletoturnit intotheformatdemandedbydataconsumers. HuaweiandEmiratessignedanagreementinMay2022thatcallsformarketingcollaborationsonjointprojects&promotionalactivitieswithafocusongrowingeachparty'spresenceintheother'shomemarket. InFebruary2022,NokiaandAT&TstartedworkingtogethertocreateaRICsoftwareplatform.Theyhave alreadyconductedsuccessfultestswiththird-partyxAppsattheedgeofalive5GmmWavenetworkforaCSP onanAkraino-basedopencloudplatform.Together,NokiaandAT&Twilluse distributedmassiveMIMOtoenhancethe5Guplink. TheUKplansto"unleash"5Gand6Ginnovation,includingwithSouthKorea.“FutureOpen NetworksResearchChallenge”hasallocated£25million.Academicsandindustryparticipantscanapplyfor fundingtosupportearly-stagetelecomresearch,suchasOpenRadioAccessNetwork(OpenRAN). DISHNetworkCorporationistestingVMware'sRICasaplatformforrunningRANapplications.DISHwill assessVMware'sRIC,especiallyonitsabilitytogenerateuniquesolutionsfromarobustecosystemofxApps andrApps,employRANprogrammabilityandintelligencefornetwork automation,andboostsecuritytomonitorandsafeguardRANtrafficasitentersthenetwork throughoutthetrial. AT&TbecameoneofthefirstmobileoperatorstoinvestinOpenRAN-alignedRICfunctionalityand accompanyingapps,notablyxAppsforreal-timeRANmanagementandoptimization.Since2019,theoperator hasbeenworkingwithNokiaandotherpartnerstoco-developaRICsoftwareplatformandidentifyxAppuse cases,inaccordancewiththeO-RANAlliancearchitecture,toenableRANprogrammabilityforeasy integrationofnewservices,aswellasAIandML(MachineLearning)-drivenalgorithmsforautomated optimization.Themobileoperatorisnowtestinginterferencecontrol,trafficdirecting,andenergy-saving xAppsacrossa200-cellsiteclusterinNewJersey. RecentDevelopmentsinOpenRAN