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Congratulations to Airspan Networks, Analog Devices, and DeepSig for their recognition as recipients of NTIA Wireless Innovation Fund awards this week. The NTIA Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, designed to strengthen diversity and resilience in the global wireless supply chain, supports the adoption of open, interoperable, and standards-based networks. Each of these companies has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation in this space.

• Airspan Networks has been awarded $42.7 million for its Highly Efficient 4G/5G O-RU Extensible Platform, which aims to enhance the efficiency and scalability of Open RAN deployment.
• Analog Devices received $10 million for its Rakino Direct RF Radio Platform, a solution poised to revolutionize direct RF signal processing for Open RAN architectures.
• DeepSig secured $10 million for its Artificial-Intelligence-Enabled O-RU Spectrum Awareness, an innovative approach that integrates AI to optimize Open RAN spectrum usage.

The Open RAN Policy Coalition is thrilled to extend our congratulations to Nokia, JMA Wireless, and MTI on being selected for awards from the U.S. government’s Wireless Innovation Fund. The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announced more than $273 million in awards as part of the first batch of grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity. This initiative is aimed at fostering Open RAN and strengthening the wireless supply chain. The awards represent a major investment in the technologies that will define the next generation of connectivity.

Among the recipients, Nokia was awarded a $45 million grant to develop cutting-edge wireless solutions that leverage the power of Open RAN. According to Nokia’s official announcement, this grant will propel the company’s efforts to innovate in areas critical to enhancing network … Read More

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a new report titled “Inflection Point: Selecting Trusted Technology for Digitalization and Connectivity,” highlighting the crucial role of trusted suppliers and financing mechanisms in steering global digitalization as developing nations upgrade their digital infrastructure.

The report, authored by Erin Murphy,Deputy Director of Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics and Senior Fellow, Emerging Asia Economics for CSIS, underscores the growing stakes in the global race to bridge the digital divide, particularly in the Global South. Through its Belt and Road Initiative’s Digital Silk Road (DSR), China has rapidly expanded its digital footprint in the Indo-Pacific region and in Africa by financing and building wireless networks, subsea cables and satellites. These investments often come with cybersecurity and privacy concerns, as well as risks of surveillance and data misuse.

The U.S. and … Read More

Last week, 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 fourth in-person Quad Leaders Summit, hosted by President Biden in Wilmington, Delaware. Following the Summit, the leaders jointly released “The Wilmington Declaration Joint Statement,” reaffirming the Quad’s commitment to strengthening technological cooperation. Open RAN remains a key focus of this partnership’s efforts to ensure a secure, resilient, and competitive telecommunications ecosystem.

The Wilmington Declaration highlights the importance of Open RAN as a cornerstone in the global shift toward open, interoperable, and secure 5G networks. By embracing Open RAN, the Quad aims to foster greater diversity in network supply chains, reducing dependencies on single-vendor solutions and enhancing security. The joint statement also underscores the commitment of … Read More

On August 21, the Open RAN Policy Coalition filed comments in response to the National Telecommunications and Information Agency’s (NTIA’s) request for comment on the Advancement of 6G Telecommunications Technology.

In our comments, the Open RAN Policy Coalition writes:

“Open RAN 6G wireless networks will help unlock and enable groundbreaking innovation in key use cases across the board, including defense, socio-economic, and life sciences sectors. These include extremely high throughput and low latency applications, including high-fidelity virtual reality and augmented reality (training, live simulation, telemedicine, industrial safety, etc.), enhanced automation and robotics in warehouses and factories, dense Internet of Things, and real-time video. Such applications require extremely spectrally efficient, high-performance wireless networks. Spectrum continues to be the most valuable strategic asset for wireless networks. In addition to enabling demanding applications, spectral efficiency improvements would drive better return on investment, increased

EchoStar recently announced the opening of the Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment (ORCID), a facility offering trusted participants in the U.S. and around the world the opportunity to test and validate Open RAN solutions using a live Open RAN 5G network.

The project is supported by a $50 million grant, awarded to EchoStar (parent company of DISH Wireless) in January by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund. ORCID’s “living laboratory” features a real field test setup with the goal of helping to drive the Open RAN ecosystem from the lab to commercial deployment and allow participants contribute to the development, deployment, and adoption of open and interoperable standards-based radio access networks. 

EchoStar is the lead partner on the consortium, with collaboration from Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc., Mavenir … Read More

Today, Open RAN Policy Coalition Executive Director Diane Rinaldo testified before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in a hearing on “Spectrum and National Security.”  Her testimony focused on the need for a sufficient amount of licensed spectrum in the pipeline, in order to deploy more Open RAN and reap its supply chain security benefits.

The journey of the Open RAN movement is a testament to innovation and opportunity based on robust competition in diverse markets. To maintain momentum, we must adopt a holistic approach to countering global market distortions and developing competitive parity for U.S. and allied vendors.

Today, much of our Coalition’s work has been focused on international efforts. As developing nations look to deploy 5G, Open RAN is a viable and desirable option, offering a cost-effective and adaptable solution. And while our education mission at the … Read More

On February 26, the Governments of the United States, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom released a statement endorsing principles for sixth generation wireless communication (6G).

In releasing the shared principles for the research and development of 6G, the governments acknowledged that by working together they can support open, free, global, interoperable, reliable, resilient, and secure connectivity.

As part of the principles for 6G, the governments also recognized the importance of “Cooperation to Enable Open and Interoperable Innovation,” including:     

• 6G technologies that use technical standards in line with principles laid down under the Global Industry-led and Inclusive Standard Setting & International Collaborations principle and interfaces to enable seamless interoperability between products from different suppliers, including software and hardware.
• 6G technologies that recognize the importance of international cooperation in promoting