5G NETWORKS
LET THE “ BEST MAN WIN ”?
The messaging that surrounds the
OpenRAN discussion sometimes runs into a degree of confusion and self-contradiction . Former BT CEO and OpenRAN advocate , Ian Livingston , gave a widely-publicised speech to UK politicians on the topic of OpenRAN adoption back in November of 2020 , and seemed to frame OpenRAN adoption within the context of a more entertaining , Hunger Games-esque battle royale ( or just a Battle Royale-esque battle royale if you prefer the original ).
" The chances of creating another Nokia in the UK are close to zero , and I ' m not sure it would be the right thing anyway ," he reflected on the UK ’ s position “ at the mercy of the Nordic duopoly .” OpenRAN , he suggests , would go a long way towards creating a larger , more even , and bloodier playing field . " Let the best man win as long as there are a lot of them ," he added .
While the logic is understandable , some industry analysts - including Iain Morris , an editor at Light Reading - have painted the program as a step towards protectionism , something Morris notes “ is clearly at odds with a pick-the-winners approach . Nor does protectionism typically result in lower costs and greater efficiency ,” adding that , “ OpenRAN might conceivably support a larger number of equipment vendors than old-school technology . It would not allow every country to insist on homegrown technologies without inflating the service provider bill .”
SONIC and its participants , however , frame OpenRAN in a much more collaborative light . It ’ s also worth noting that the technology isn ’ t some plot to protect UK businesses , with a significant portion of SONIC ’ s participants ( like Foxconn and Mavenir ) hailing from outside the UK . If a shift towards OpenRAN is guilty of protectionism , it ’ s within the context of scale rather than any kind of nationalist segregation . mobile-magazine . com 87