Open RAN: weighing the challenges versus the promise

Open RAN is by far one of the most discussed technology topics in the mobile industry in 2021. It features in the news on such a regular basis that one could be forgiven for forgetting the industry began talking about it in earnest more than five years ago, with the establishment of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP). Five years on, it is worth asking why progress has been so slow. New technologies and architectures take time to develop, of course. However, it is also important to recognise that operators face significant obstacles in deploying open RAN solutions. As they consider whether or how to integrate open RAN into their networks, these challenges need to be carefully considered.