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Open RAN 3 - Critical Success Factors to Build a Strong Open RAN Ecosystem

Jul 24. 2019

Historically, the deployment of RANs in a mobile network came from two equipment suppliers out of a very qualified list of several vendors. Operators initially chose their supplier based on certain criteria, but as networks grew, new technology generations were introduced, and data capacity increased, operators lost the ability to choose and were forced to purchase from their original vendor. This limitation is due to the vendors’ proprietary implementations of the Radio Access Network (RAN) components. The result is that MNOs lacked flexibility in network build-out – they were locked in with that one supplier. The carrier community began looking for ways to build networks with their preferred components, and moved to establish a standardized Open RAN architecture to allow operators choice and flexibility that isn’t possible with a single incumbent vendor.

 

 

A multi-vendor best-of-breed network is on its way – but the success of that architecture can only be possible with a robust ecosystem that both offers enough reliable choices to operators and resolves complexities and interoperability issues inherent in a multi-vendor RAN network. With this multi-vendor RAN, MNOs have the flexibility to deploy the equipment that best meets their needs for the services their customers demand, and in the end, all will reap the benefits of the healthy innovation driven by the collaborative implementations.

 

 

An ecosystem that can enable these options will depend on four critical success factors – a strong industry-wide collaborative commitment, multi-vendor interoperability, minimizing network complexities, and system integration capabilities for multi-vendor deployments.

Let’s look at these factors in some detail to understand why these are the critical success factors for Open RAN ecosystem.

 

 

1. Strong industry-wide collaboration: The foundational principle of any ecosystem is the commitment to openly share, discuss, and solve challenges in an innovative way. The ecosystem must include legacy and emerging RAN vendors, as they are beneficial to each other. The agility of the new vendors provides new approaches to solutions, and the experience of the existing RAN vendors enables solid system integration. It is critical that the ecosystem participants span all components in the RAN and have a clear understanding of the agreed to approach in each area. This open collaboration that includes both vendors and network operators will build confidence and trust in the products created through the ecosystem.

 


The O-RAN Alliance is already accellerating this collaboration. Founded by 5 global operators, the organization sets forth the requirements that enable operators to meet their goals of increasing service velocity and to remove barriers to best in breed deployments. The alliance continues to add new operators and vendors and is driving multiple initiatives towards standardization of open interfaces and the use of commodity hardware platforms in all parts of the RAN deployments.

2. Multi-vendor interoperability: With the ecosystem agreeing to and formalizing the set of common standards for Open RAN interfaces and functions, the focus turns to ensure multi-vendor interoperability and integration. Even with clear definitions in the standards, vendors can interpret those definitions differently, resulting in an interface or function that is not working as intended. With the Open RAN initiative, interoperability is among the greatest concerns among MNOs, and it could be the biggest inhibitor to operators deploying Open RAN in their network . These interoperability steps are key to ensuring all components work properly in the multi-vendor solution.

 

 

3. Minimizing network complexities: The complexity of the RAN is noteworthy on its own and expanding it to multiple vendors requires careful consideration and implementation to reduce these complexities. For example, it is critical that open RAN systems work smoothly with the proprietary radio systems to minimize any applicable strain on network performance and reliability. Only vendors can minimize and resolve network complexities that arise out of multi-vendor deployments; doing so requires collaboration and partnership among the RAN vendors.

4. Building system integration capabilities: With the functionality coming from different vendors, the collaboration of the ecosystem requires a coordinated integration effort amongst all vendors prior to deployment. System integration capabilities that can address the network complexities in multi-vendor software and hardware integration will be critical to ensure sustained growth of Open RAN deployments in mobile networks. When operators buy hardware and software from several vendors and not one as they do today, MNOs will need system integrators with a deep understanding of capabilities of the different products so that they can tie together the various RAN architecture elements tightly and ensure reliability and stability of the system. System integrators will have the anchoring role in the Open RAN world – as they will be the glue that will tie together all the RAN architecture elements in a multi-vendor deployment.

 

 

For any technology ecosystem to succeed, collaboration between all key stakeholders – in this case, network operators, vendors and system integrators – is critical. A collaborative plan of action would mean that the vendor community and network operators work to smooth out roadblocks and ensure they achieve key milestones like finalization of standards and commercialization of products faster. It will also be critical to ensure system stability, reliability and performance. Joint testing and trial activities can speed the resolution of gaps in interoperability to enable faster commercial deployments. In short, a robust ecosystem will give operators more confidence in the reliability of Open RAN and thereby drive operators to widely deploy them in their network.

At Samsung, we are fostering our industry partnerships to build a robust Open RAN ecosystem. Our active participation in various Open RAN industry collaboration initiatives – notably O-RAN Alliance, and our contribution to the creation of the xRAN Fronthaul specification demonstrates our strong commitment to building an Open RAN ecosystem that delivers value to mobile operators.

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