US sets up new open RAN group amid telecom slugfest with China | Light Reading

At the time of publication, the group had not responded to questions about its precise role and what makes it different from the Facebook-led Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and the O-RAN Alliance, the two main groups already in this space. It’s important to note, however, that the published membership list features the names of several non-US companies, including Fujitsu, NEC, NTT, Rakuten (all Japanese), Samsung (South Korean), Telefónica (Spanish) and Vodafone (based in the UK).

Just about all the other members are American, however, and there are plenty of them. They include (deep breath) Airspan, Altiostar, AT&T, AWS, Cisco, CommScope, Dell, Dish, Facebook, Google, IBM, Intel, Juniper Networks, Mavenir, Microsoft, NewEdge Signal Solutions, Oracle, Parallel Wireless, Qualcomm, US Ignite, Verizon, VMware, World Wide Technology and XCOM-Labs.

Besides missing any Chinese names, that list also omits any mention of either Ericsson or Nokia, the two European vendors largely responsible for the US 5G projects that are currently underway. Open RAN may seem just as threatening to these companies as it does to Huawei, reducing equipment costs and bringing competition into the radio market (if it works out).
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