Cybersecurity Policy Report, Industry Reps Stress Need for Government Open RAN Support, (Sep 17, 2024)
Organizations Mentioned:Chunghwa Telecom Co., Ltd. | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation
By Paul Kirby
Industry representatives today stressed the importance of government support to help spur the deployment of open radio access network (RAN) technology, including by providing funding and using O-RAN network themselves.
The speakers offered their views at the inaugural International Open RAN Symposium (IORS), which is being held this week in Golden, Colorado. The event, which was organized by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, will be hosted by other countries in the future.
The speakers cited NTIA’s $1.5 billion Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund and the benefits of providing grants to parties to boost O-RAN technology, and they said other governments should also make such funding available.
“Government’s own adoption of open RAN technology is really important,” added Svetlana Matt of EchoStar, Inc., which won a $50 million grant to establish the Open RAN Center for Integration and Deployment. The center is scheduled to be inaugurated tomorrow.
Nguyen Thanh Hai of Viettel Group, a Vietnamese state-owned multinational conglomerate, said there was a need for enterprise spectrum for O-RAN deployment. He also stressed the importance of an industry security standard.
Robinson Chiu of Chunghwa Telecom Co. Ltd., Taiwan’s largest integrated telecom provider, said government funding was needed for O-RAN vendors in his country.
He also emphasized the importance of a unified global 6G standard, citing the expectation that O-RAN may flourish with 6G deployment.
U.S. government officials stressed the Biden administration’s support for O-RAN technology.
“This is the largest convening the Department of Commerce has ever organized on Open RAN, and the first time we have brought together policy and technical experts in such a comprehensive way,” Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves said in the text of his remarks.
“Now let me be clear: we at the Department of Commerce and in the Biden-Harris Administration remain fully committed to global industry’s success in deploying Open RAN—understanding the potential it holds in enhancing the resilience, security, and innovative potential of our ICT supply chains and our economic and national security,” he added.
“Put simply, we’re putting our money where our mouth is. We have already awarded more than $140 million through the Fund, and we are now reviewing applications for up to $420 million more from our next round of grants,” Mr. Graves noted.
“Even still, we recognize that for Open RAN to achieve global scale and deliver fully on its expected benefits, it will take a cross-border ecosystem of network operators, vendors, and likeminded governments all working in close partnership,” he stressed. “That’s why I’m so pleased that we’re joined at this Open RAN Symposium by representatives from over 21 countries and six continents, spanning from governmental officials to academia to industry leaders.”
“We stand at an important juncture,” acting deputy NTIA Administrator Sarah Morris said in the text of her remarks. “There is little doubt remaining that Open RAN will become a major model for network deployment. We have seen clear interest from established and emerging industry players alike. And there has been enthusiasm from an ever-increasing number of governments around the world. At the same time, we would not be here if there were not more work yet to be done.”
She added, “That includes in facilitating consistent, repeatable Open RAN testing” and “speeding the pace of commercial-scale deployments.”
“That type of public-private dialogue matters. Progress on Open RAN can and should be led by the private sector, but governments also have a legitimate interest in helping ensure Open RAN delivers on key public policy benefits, like enhanced supply chain resilience and security,” Ms. Morris said. “I further hope that the presence of so many U.S. departments and agencies at this symposium demonstrates that the U.S. will ‘show up’ when it comes to backing Open RAN.
“That includes representation from our friends at the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Commercial Law Development Program,” she added.
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