Biden Administration Fully Committed to Benefits of Open Networks
Work remains before open radio access networks are viable worldwide, Sarah Morris, deputy NTIA administrator, warned Tuesday. Among the gaps are “consistent, repeatable and open RAN testing and speeding the pace of commercial-scale deployments,” Morris said during the opening NTIA’s first International ORAN Symposium, taking place this week in Golden, Colorado.
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“There is little doubt remaining” that ORAN “will become a major model for network deployment,” Morris said. “We’ve seen clear interest from established and emerging industry players alike and there has been enthusiasm from an ever-increasing number of global governments.” Progress on ORAN won’t follow “a straight line” and new and unexpected challenges will arise.
Morris noted that NTIA is doing its part by investing in ORAN technologies through the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (see 2405070060) and convening international meetings like the one in Golden. Public/private discussions are important, she said: “Progress … can and should be led by the private sector, but there is undoubtedly a role for the government to play in helping ensure that open RAN delivers” in areas including “supply-chain resiliency and security.”
Officials from across the U.S. government are attending the conference, Morris said. “The U.S. will show up when it comes to open RAN.”
“This is a critically important point in time in the development of open RAN,” said Don Graves, deputy secretary of Commerce. The meeting is the largest and most comprehensive the department has held on ORAN, he said: “Let me be clear,” the administration is “fully committed to global industry success in deploying open RAN.”
For ORAN to achieve global scale “and to deliver fully on its expected benefits,” will require international partnerships and a global ecosystem, Graves said. He noted officials from more than 21 countries were at the conference.
Timing for the symposium “could not be more perfect,” said Stephan Lang, State Department coordinator of international communications and information policy. Next week, delegates from around the world will gather in New York for the U.N. General Assembly’s “High-Level Week” and this year “digital issues will be front and center,” he said. The focus will be on “closing digital divides, connecting the unconnected and leveraging new and emerging technologies,” Lang said. “Good ideas come from all over the world.”
“You know better than I do what open RAN brings to the table,” Lang said: “You’re creating new technologies and developing the existing ones that take us to that next level.” The State Department has plans for funding the ORAN symposium next year, he said.
Nearly all the companies that have joined the Open RAN Policy Coalition in recent months are from outside the U.S., said Executive Director Diane Rinaldo, former NTIA acting administrator. There have already been more than 100 ORAN deployments globally, including by Dish Wireless, the largest in the world so far, she said.
Rinaldo said it’s no longer a question whether ORAN has a big role to play. “We understand that this is a global focus and that we need to create global partnerships,” she said. “There’s a growing recognition” that how networks are built and operate needs to “evolve.” ORAN promises to “unlock vendor diversity, drive down the costs and create a more resilient and secure network environment."
The coalition’s top request of governments worldwide is that they approve “clear and supportive” regulations that encourage competition and innovation, Rinaldo said. ORAN “breaks away from the closed proprietary systems of the past and allows smaller vendors to compete with established telecom giants.” Governments also need to support research and redevelopment, she said. “Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum -- you know this."
Spectrum is also critical, and governments “must take a proactive role in ensuring that sufficient spectrum is made available for open RAN development,” Rinaldo said: “Let’s find new spectrum bands to build on.” Rinaldo also stressed the importance of open standards and international cooperation. Open networks in one region should be able to interconnect with those in another, she said. Governments should also incentivize deployments, especially in rural and underserved areas, she said: “Governments can help derisk the investments that telecom operators make to transition to open RAN.”