With more and more service providers adopting the OpenRAN approach to fundamentally transform their network infrastructure, it is clear that it is going to be at the heart of future deployments.
Vodafone, Telefonica, and MTN are just some of the telcos that have started to incorporate the OpenRAN approach to either expand the network coverage or to upgrade their existing networks. Platforms like Facebook’s Telecom Infra Project (TIP) endeavour to transform the communications network architecture, will play a crucial role in driving innovation in this segment. OpenRAN has emerged as a technology of choice to improve the network performance and enhance cost-efficiency.
The massive benefits of OpenRAN, coupled with the need to transform them to meet the new customer demands, mean that the coming years will witness increased OpenRAN adoption in all geographies. Consequently, OpenRAN will not only generate new and exciting employment opportunities, but it is also going to be the center of network innovations.
Here are the key reasons why you cannot afford to ignore OpenRAN in your career journey:
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OpenRAN is Central to Network evolution for 5G
The siloed approach of adding a new layer for every new technology leads to network complexity and demands high investment. 5G offers service providers an opportunity to reimagine the network architecture and deploy cost-effective networks.
Several global service providers are already opting for OpenRAN architecture to break from the limitations imposed on them by proprietary radio systems. The OpenRAN network architecture, which is programmable, flexible and unbundled, can meet the requirements for improved mobile broadband and extremely low latency. Further, it supports network slicing, a key 5G concept.
OpenRAN is Crucial to the Digital Transformation of Telcos
OpenRAN is central to power the service providers’ movement from Communications Service Provider (CSP) to Digital Service Provider (DSP), which empowers them to meet the growing demand of the subscribers for more capacity and ultra-high-speed network.
A DSP goes beyond offering the essential telecom services to providing broadband access, content and mobile apps to its subscribers. Evolving from CSP to DSP will enable service providers to offer enriching customer experience and newer services, including Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Industry 4.0, to their subscribers.
The legacy systems are unable to meet the network requirements of DSP. OpenRAN will play a central role in this evolution, even as service providers are able to simplify their networks and bring down the cost of deploying and managing the network.
OpenRAN Enables Virtualization
The service providers across the globe are benefiting by virtualizing the network functions to achieve better resource management and scalability.
Typically, legacy RAN platforms are based on proprietary hardware and depend on prolonged and costly life-cycles in development, deployment, and operation. This leads to vendor lock-in and sometimes prevents the service providers from keeping pace with the new technology developments. With the launch of the new generation, the radios are replaced with newer versions, which demands substantial investment and inconvenience to the mobile operators.
The telecom infrastructures are already undergoing a gradual transformation towards applications running on Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). Now they want to extend it further to the RAN to separate open functions, where every vendor offering can interoperate with other products. This will allow the operators to explore new business models, like OpenRAN, that promotes openness and is built on open principles, which enable service providers to benefit from cloud-scale economies and service agility. Further, this also helps service providers to bring down the cost.
OpenRAN is Pivotal to Future Greenfield Deployments
The new greenfield deployments are likely to go for OpenRAN-powered network deployment. It is easy to see why. The OpenRAN solution is well suited for greenfield 4G or 5G deployments. It leads to faster deployment and, at the same time, allows the operator to future-proof the investment. The software-enabled network simplifies expansions and makes it easy for them to scale. The new network is software upgradeable and does away with the cost and complexity of transitioning the networks to 5G.
Whatever be the roadmap or the size of the service provider, OpenRAN is sure to be a part of its journey. OpenRAN vendors, like Parallel Wireless, are at the cusp of unprecedented growth and promise an opportunity to work with new and upcoming technologies. The OpenRAN technology has successfully disrupted the telecom network and the coming few years will bring exciting with new innovations leading to a paradigm shift in the network architecture.
This is a Guest Post by By Rajesh Mishra, Co-founder, President and CTO, Parallel Wireless
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