The US government has allocated €39 million to support the development of the Open RAN standard, which will enable wireless operators to mix and match hardware and mobile software, thereby opening up a larger market for cheaper and compatible equipment.
The grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) will fund the establishment of an O-RAN test center in Dallas, showcasing the potential of this standard in curbing Huawei’s march towards global dominance in mobile network equipment.
Joe Russo, a senior Verizon executive, praised the funding as a way to achieve “faster innovation in an open environment.”
To realize the goals of this standard, AT&T and Verizon executives, Robert Soni, formed the Acceleration of Compatibility and Commercialisation for Open RAN Deployments (ACCoRD) consortium, which includes several technology companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Dell, Intel, Broadcom, and Rakuten. Japanese mobile operator Rakuten launched the first O-RAN network in 2020.
O-RAN allows for cost-effective network deployment using smaller equipment instead of massive towers, which has long been a promise of 5G technology. Creating compatibility means that companies like Verizon and AT&T do not have to buy all their equipment from a single supplier to create a functioning network.
For consumers, this means faster network deployment and “more flexible networks.”
In the United States, Dish is working on its own O-RAN network called Project Genesis.
In 2022, when the 5G network was introduced in Las Vegas, it was complex and unreliable, but the company announced in June of last year that it had achieved its goal and covered 70% of the US population.
However, Dish is struggling to become the next major mobile service provider in the US, which led to EchoStar, a satellite communication company that separated from Dish in 2008, acquiring the company in January.
The Washington Post writes that O-RAN is “the chosen Washington contender that can topple Chinese technology giant Huawei Technologies” as the largest provider of mobile infrastructure devices.
According to the Post, Biden has emphasized the importance of O-RAN during discussions with international leaders over the past few years. It was also noted that Congress and the NTIA have pledged approximately €1.9 billion to support the development of this standard.