Source: FT, Jul-2020, “Telecoms networks look to fix Huawei problem with open source software”
The nascent “OpenRAN” movement is now on the verge of launching a national 5G network without the help of Huawei or its main European competitors Ericsson and Nokia. The competing technology is provided by ecommerce group Ratuken, which has been working on Japan’s first new mobile radio access network (“RAN”) in a decade. Ratuken’s launch is a key moment in proving whether open sourced-based network technology can work at scale and comes against a backdrop of global pressure to foster alternatives to Huawei’s telecoms technology.
Traditional mobile networks rely on equipment that tightly bundles together proprietary hardware, such as antennas and cabinets, with software provided by the three large vendors. Ratuken is trying to unbundle this arrangement, using open-source software to operate Ratuken’s new network, which is the first full OpenRAN system in the world.
With this system Ratuken representative Tareq Amin states that he could bring a new radio mast online in just over eight minutes, compared with between five to ten days for a traditional outfit. The cost of launching a 5G network, he said, was 45% lower than using traditional equipment.
Ratuken is not alone in pushing for a shake-up of the market. In 2018, NTT, Orange, China Mobile and AT&T formed the OpenRAN alliance to explore the idea, while Facebook is also looking into the technology via the Telecom Infra Project.
If OpenRAN becomes popular, mobile networks could pick and choose software and hardware from a range of vendors rather than being locked in to proprietary technology for years.
Open systems would allow smaller software players including Mavenir, Parallel Wireless and Altiostar – in which Ratuken has invested – to compete. Meanwhile, suppliers such as NEC, Fujitsu and Samsung could regain a foothold in the global telecoms hardware market. In response, struggling Nokia has now embraced open-source software. Radio access equipment represents as much as 70% of an operators capital expenditure, so Ratuken’s initial success, with 1m customers signing up so far, has encouraged other new entrants, such as Dish in the US and 1&1 Drillisch in Germany.
The Equity Analyst 