Blog

The Open RAN Policy Coalition submitted comments in response to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) request for recommendations from stakeholders for developing the Administration’s Implementation Plan for the National Strategy to Secure 5G.

The Coalition believes that there are a variety of steps that policymakers can take to facilitate a vibrant marketplace of suppliers and increased adoption of new innovation based upon open interfaces.  In order to nurture this technological approach and accelerate stable, sustainable, and successful advances, the Coalition promotes initiatives and policy priorities that (1) support new and existing innovative technology suppliers that are implementing these open interfaces, as well as small and large network operators, (2) help create a competitive global ecosystem of diverse trusted suppliers and service providers, and (3) build and maintain U.S. and allies’ technological leadership both in 5G and future wireless … Read More

Today, the Open RAN Policy Coalition released two new papers on secure open interfaces and open RAN specifications and deployments.

The first paper, “5G and Open RAN Security: Next Generation Trust,” addresses one of the common misconceptions about an open RAN: that open interfaces introduce security risk. In fact, these same open interfaces, defined in technical specifications, provide a foundation and architecture for improving security.  Although operators procure and integrate open RAN network functions in new ways, operators bring the same expertise, diligence and requirements for security and resilience to these environments.

The second, “Open RAN Specifications and Deployment Status,” details how open RAN specifications allow innovative companies to develop products, software solutions and reference designs in a diverse and competitive global market.  While global standards are important to create opportunities for interoperability of scalable … Read More

Welcome to the Open RAN Policy Coalition blog.  Earlier this year, several of our member companies came together as an ad hoc group, to advocate for government policies supporting the development and adoption of open and interoperable solutions in the Radio Access Network.  We have grown since then and are excited to officially launch today with 31 global technology companies as members.

The unifying principle for our membership is the belief that by “opening” the protocols and interfaces between the various subcomponents (radios, hardware and software) in the RAN, we will move to an environment where networks can be deployed with a more modular design, and without being dependent upon a single vendor. 

We believe that open interfaces will help ensure interoperability across different players in the ecosystem and lower the barrier to entry for new innovators. 

Of course, there … Read More