Virtual RAN gathers pace, but obstacles lie ahead

Standard

●

Nov 2019

Topic

Mobile networks and connectivity

Virtual RAN gathers pace, but obstacles lie ahead

This insight is locked

Access this insight with a Standard plan. Contact our sales team to get started.

Enquire about subscription

Momentum is building for the rollout of virtual RAN (vRAN), which promises to deliver numerous benefits to operators, including cost savings and a reduction in vendor lock-in while also enabling network automation and edge computing. Despite these benefits though, most vRAN deployments so far have been small in scale and limited to a few large operators. This reflects the complexity of vRAN, which requires operators to undergo significant IT transformation in both infrastructure and workforce skill sets. Additionally, there is a need to accelerate the scalability of vRAN equipment through greater consensus-building efforts between operators and vendors, especially the growing collection of challenger vendors. These are some of the main barriers to vRAN, as revealed in a recent GSMA Intelligence survey.

Report details

Virtual RAN gathers pace, but obstacles lie ahead

Pages

Released

NOVEMBER 2019

Report details

Virtual RAN gathers pace, but obstacles lie ahead

Pages

Released

NOVEMBER 2019

Related research

Region in Focus: Sub-Saharan Africa, Q1 2026

Mobile networks and connectivity

The Region in Focus series provides an essential quarterly briefing on industry developments, market insights and country KPIs for mobile markets around the world. This edition focuses on analysis of the latest developments for Q1 2026 while providing KPIs for the year to December 2025.