TECHNOLOGY

CREDIT: AT & T

One analysis found that 5G deployments using commercial-off-the-shelf( COTS) hardware and Open RAN software realised capital expenditure savings of 49 % compared to legacy options the CU and DU software to run on general-purpose Commercial-Off- The-Shelf( COTS) servers, typically from the IT world, rather than on proprietary hardware.

The lynchpin of this entire model is open interfaces. The O-RAN ALLIANCE, the primary standards body for the movement, defines these interfaces to ensure interoperability among devices. The most critical of these is the Open Fronthaul, which connects the DU of one vendor to the RU of another, decisively breaking the most rigid proprietary link in the traditional RAN. It allows an operator to select best-of-breed components from a diverse ecosystem, fostering competition and innovation.

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