Welcome

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 are others working in this space to develop open RAN standards and protocols. Our goal is to bring a policy-focused complement to what others are developing in terms of technical standards. 

We believe that there are a variety of steps that policymakers can take to facilitate a vibrant marketplace of suppliers based upon open interfaces, including:

  • Support global development of open and interoperable wireless technologies;
  • Signal government support for open and interoperable solutions;
  • Use government procurement to support vendor diversity;
  • Fund research and development;
  • Remove barriers to 5G deployment; and
  • Avoid heavy-handed or prescriptive solutions. 

We look forward to using this blog and website as a platform to outline our policy positions promoting the adoption of open and interoperable solutions for competition and expansion in the supply chain for advanced wireless including 5G and beyond.

A press release announcing the launch of the Open RAN Policy Coalition can be found in our newsroom.

Our founding members include Airspan, Altiostar, AT&T, AWS, Cisco, CommScope, Dell, DISH Network, Facebook, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Intel, Juniper Networks, Mavenir, Microsoft, NEC Corporation, NewEdge Signal Solutions, NTT, Oracle, Parallel Wireless, Qualcomm, Rakuten Mobile, Samsung Electronics America, Telefónica, US Ignite, Verizon, VMWare, Vodafone, World Wide Technology, and XCOM-Labs.

By Diane Rinaldo, Executive Director