Is Open RAN On Track For Success?

On the eve of MWC24, Ericsson announced the release of a number of new hardware and software solutions, and all of these products will support Open RAN. After receiving the industry's largest Open RAN contract worth US$14 billion from AT&T at the end of last year, Ericsson's publicity and marketing voice for Open RAN technology has been unprecedentedly high-profile. "Promoting the industrialization of Open RAN" is one of the loud slogans Ericsson put forward when releasing these latest products.

Ericsson wrote in a press release that one of the features of its latest product is More Openness. Ericsson executives said that this means that all Ericsson products will support Open RAN, including Massive MIMO, FDD, etc., and operators can choose whether to open it according to their own needs. Ericsson also demonstrated a series of efforts in industrialized Open RAN at MWC24, including flexible cloud solutions and open fronthaul technology. Another press release emphasized that "the new products will make Ericsson's wireless product family even more powerful and will also make it the industry's most comprehensive and sustainable product with the ability to evolve to the Open RAN architecture (eCPRI based on packet fronthaul)" wireless product portfolio.”

FIG1-Ericsson Booth at MWC24

When it comes to industrialization, the Open RAN market was often regarded as a "game among small manufacturers." Some people may object that companies such as Samsung, NEC and Fujitsu certainly cannot be counted as "small factories." However, in the context of the overall RAN market, these companies are naturally not considered top suppliers in the traditional sense. The announcement of this $14 billion deal means the official entry of Tier-1 operators and established suppliers. This time, Open RAN is no longer a "small trial" by a certain operator in a single region or even a single town, but a nationwide deployment that claims to promote the "industrialization of Open RAN." action. So the rules of the game are changing.

From a technical perspective, traditional manufacturers have become willing to invest more energy and money in the concept of Open. On the one hand, this caters to the industry's desire for openness and ecological prosperity, and on the other hand, it is also in line with the so-called "political correctness." But from a business perspective, the large-scale participation of big manufacturers will inevitably squeeze the market space of upstart players. Especially under the general trend of declining telecom capital expenditure levels year after year, many operators prefer to purchase O-RAN standard-compatible products from the same large suppliers they used in the past to ensure system stability and return on investment. However, for small manufacturers, the game with big manufacturers has existed from the beginning. They know very well that if they do, they may not have a chance, but if they do not, there will definitely be no chance.

It is still difficult to draw a conclusion about the success of Open RAN. However, in today's global environment, Open may have become a well-known "secret to pass customs", and you can never go wrong when talking about it.

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