Update from the Quad Leaders’ Summit

On May 20, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan, and President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the United States, met for the third in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit.

In a Joint Leaders’ Statement following the Summit, it was announced that the Quad will partner with the government of Palau to establish a deployment of Open RAN, the first in the Pacific. The goal of this initiative is to modernize Palau’s national mobile network, establish an Open RAN deployment in partnership with local stakeholders, and support its sustainable operation. As part of the agreement, the United States Trade and Development Agency will fund a technical assistance grant to scope the size and scale of the project, the Australian Government will support the project, and Quad partners may provide further support.

The … Read More

The Big 5G Event: In Austin, May 15-17

The Open RAN Policy Coalition is excited to partner with the Big 5G Event, a leading annual gathering for North American executives setting their 5G and Cloud strategies for 2024 and beyond. The conference will feature hard-hitting content delivered over three days and shaped by leading analysts from Heavy Reading and Omdia.

The robust event agenda includes discussion tracks on topics like Private Networks in a 5G World and the Evolution Radio Access Networks. Of note, the event will include a panel discussion on From vRAN to Open RAN, featuring speakers from USCellular, AMD, Intel, Radisys and CableLabs; and another discussion on Open RAN System Integration & Lifecycle Management which will include speakers from NTIA, Fujitsu and AT&T, among others.

Many of our members will be in Austin for the Big 5G Event and we hope to see you … Read More

White House National Security Council’s 6G Principles

On April 21, the White House National Security Council released a document, “Principles for 6G: OPEN & RESILIENT BY DESIGN,” highlighting the potential for 6G to bridge the digital divide, expand internet access domestically and internationally, and drive applications in areas such as health, energy, transportation and agriculture.

The White House notes that the United States, along with its allies and partners, must take a proactive role in shaping the development of 6G to advance economic and national security interests. This includes ensuring that the 6G environment is technology-neutral and globally competitive, with diverse and resilient supply chains.

The principles included in the document were identified during a full-day workshop, and emphasize the need for a globally competitive, secure, and inclusive 6G ecosystem that prioritizes affordability, accessibility, sustainability and privacy. The principles also underscore the importance of collaboration between government … Read More

In Berlin this Week: Open RAN World

Open RAN World 2023 is set to take place in Berlin from April 26 to 27, and will feature discussions on some of the most exciting Open RAN initiatives and deployments taking place around the world. The event will cover a range of topics, including Open vRAN, RAN Intelligent Controllers, system integration, Open RAN performance and interoperability testing, cloud infrastructure and operations for Open RAN, and the cost benefits of Open RAN. Attendees can expect to gain insights and knowledge from expert speakers and engage in networking opportunities with industry professionals.

The agenda also includes a number of talks on Open RAN; John Baker, Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Business Development at Mavenir and board member of the Open RAN Policy Coalition, will deliver a keynote on Real Open RAN Experiences. Gilles Garcia, Senior Director, Business Lead Data Center … Read More

Statement on Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund

Today the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released the first Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. Below is a statement from Open RAN Policy Coalition Executive Director Diane Rinaldo:

“Today’s Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund represents a significant milestone in promoting the deployment of open and interoperable networks. A historic $1.5 billion investment, the Fund has the potential to foster a continuous cycle of innovation, design, testing, and commercial deployment, while creating opportunities for emerging companies to compete in the global communications market.

Government support has been a critical component in undertaking the transition to an open approach to 5G and future generations of networks, and the Open RAN Policy Coalition applauds the work being done by U.S. Secretary of … Read More

Open RAN Gains Momentum at Mobile World Congress

ORPC Executive Director Diane Rinaldo sat down with AT&T’s Chris Boyer in Barcelona to summarize the key Open RAN take aways from MWC. Chris and Diane were encouraged to see prominent business and policy discussions around Open-RAN incorporated into the show agenda as well as happening on the trade show floor. Highlights from their chat include:

  • Unlike previous years, Open-RAN was a primary topic of this year’s Mobile World Congress, with keynote remarks, panel presentations and an obvious increase in the number of small companies getting into the Open-RAN space.

  • Carriers are still encouraged about Open-RAN as a way to power 5G networks and beyond at a more cost-effective and innovative way.

  • There were cool things on the trade show floor, like holograms and new approaches to delivering Artificial Intelligence (AI) experiences.

  • That said… Diane is still confident that AI
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MWC Barcelona: Day 3

Last night, Analog Devices, Inc. hosted an Open RAN Policy Coalition networking event at MWC Barcelona. The reception, also sponsored by AT&T, Fujitsu and Qualcomm, welcomed 100 attendees including ORPC members, policy experts, and leaders from across the telecoms industry. It was great to see so many friendly faces!

Today, ORPC Executive Director Diane Rinaldo is participating in a panel discussion as part of the Fujitsu Partner Program, “Network Trust – How To Securely Connect Cyber World To Physical World.” The discussion will focus on how network operators, cloud providers, application providers and policy & academic bodies can implement network security and ensure trusted solutions for a sustainable society, and will take place in Theatre 3, Hall 7 from 9:30-11am.

And this afternoon at the Telecom Infra Project Pavilion, Diane Rinaldo will interview Dr. Thomas Rondeau, PhD, … Read More

More from Barcelona: ORPC and Member Announcements at MWC

Join us at MWC on Wednesday, March 1 at the TIP Pavilion, where ORPC Executive Director Diane Rinaldo will interview Dr. Thomas Rondeau, PhD, Principal Director for FutureG & 5G, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. They’ll be on the TIP stage from 2-2:30pm in Hall 5 Stand 5A40.

Today we’re highlighting more exciting announcements from ORPC members at MWC:

  • DeepSig will be showcasing their widely deployed AI-driven RF Awareness product, OmniSIG® in the live MWC environment. Pairing machine learning and augmented reality, attendees will be able to see real-time RF signals being collected and classified in an immersive AR experience for the first time.
  • Fujitsu announced the launch of a new 5G vRAN solution combining Fujitsu’s virtualized CU (vCU) and virtualized DU (vDU) with NVIDIA’s GPU technology. Fujitsu will start offering the new solution
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ORPC is at MWC Barcelona!

The Open RAN Policy Coalition is excited to be back in Barcelona for MWC this week, February 27 – March 2.

ORPC Executive Director Diane Rinaldo will participate in a panel discussion on Wednesday as part of the Fujitsu Partner Program on Network Trust – How To Securely Connect Cyber World To Physical World. The discussion, moderated by Fujitsu’s Femi Adeyemi, will focus on how network operators, cloud providers, application providers and policy & academic bodies can implement network security and ensure trusted solutions for a sustainable society.

Many Coalition members will also be in attendance in Barcelona; below are just a few highlights of their exciting announcements and demonstrations:

  • Cohere Technologies launched a new automated MU-MIMO beamforming solution for calibrating 4G and 5G networks using existing network and spectrum assets. The new Dynamic Network Alignment (DNA) solution applies the
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Open RAN Policy Coalition Files Comments with NTIA on Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund Implementation

Today the Open RAN Policy Coalition filed comments in response to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency’s (NTIA’s) request for comment on Implementing the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, a critical linchpin in the broadband and technology infrastructure investments under NTIA’s stewardship.

In its comments, the Coalition writes, “Enhancing interoperability and diversity throughout communications network supply chains will foster innovation, drive competition, and bolster resiliency in ways that augment and amplify the goals of related programs under the CHIPS Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This, in turn, will serve as a catalyst to accelerate Open RAN advances in the immediate near term and create scale as soon as possible. Therefore, time is of the essence, and ORPC urges NTIA to fund key projects as soon as possible this year.”

The filing emphasizes that with targeted funding … Read More