Open RAN is a vendor-agnostic technology, designed to allow the sharing of hardware, software and radio components, potentially leading to substantial cost reductions. It’s particularly appealing to a cash-strapped Vi, which has yet to roll out its 5G networks.
However, industry experts note that the enthusiasm for Open RAN has fizzled out mainly due to challenges around cost effectiveness, scale, legacy infrastructure and standardisation of technologies. As a result, widespread adoption can now only be expected in 6G, which is at least four to five years away for India.
Yet, not everyone has abandoned the vision to of a truly open network architecture.
Japan’s Rakuten is one of a few global telcos that successfully runs its 4G and 5G commercial network on cloud-native Open RAN technology. Meanwhile, enterprise open-source solutions company Red Hat is also optimistic that the transition to “Open-RAN is a journey, not an overnight switch”.
Telco trials
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In June, Vodafone Idea (Vi) announced trials with Samsung to implement virtualised RAN (vRAN), which eliminated the need to deploy physical hardware by running baseband functions entirely as software.
Airtel, too, has been running trials with America’s Mavenir to deploy 2,500 O-RAN sites in rural markets last year.
Meanwhile, Reliance Jio is taking a bold approach by developing its own open stack, further solidified by its acquisitions of telecom solutions provider Radisys and equipment manufacturer Mimosa Networks.
“Those projects are hardly under focus now as most 5G deployments have been completed and telcos have curtailed their capex,” said a senior executive at a leading telco. “O-RAN holds significant promise, but there are several challenges in India telecoms which are failing those expectations.”
AshwinderSethi, partner at global TMT consulting firm Analysys Mason, compared O-RAN to a “chicken and egg story” between bringing scale and reducing cost.
“Trials have suggested that the cost of deploying O-RAN is not materially low versus traditional RAN. In fact, with 5G, it could be even more expensive. Therefore, telcos feel that the risk is not worth taking if there is not material economics,” Sethi said.
The most important benefit of virtualising RAN is that it makes telecom networks more flexible, said Parag Kar, a veteran telecom network specialist who previously worked at Qualcomm.
“The open ecosystem allows an operator to work with multiple vendors. In traditional hardware deployment, the operator becomes dependent on one single vendor for its scalability needs. This means its leverage towards one single vendor goes down and the operator has much room for negotiation of contracts,” he explained.
But despite its potential, O-RAN is still in the early stages globally, and it remains uncertain whether it can deliver substantial cost benefits. The increased transactional costs associated with integrating components sourced from various vendors may pose significant challenges to realising those advantages.
“Therefore, we will now need system integrators (SI) who will manage network integration between multiple vendors and take responsibility for network performance. It reduces the cost of ownership, but SI services will also come at a cost,” Kar said.
Global situation
Once hailed as a disruptor in telecom network technology, Open-RAN has lost steam globally.
UK’s Virgin Media O2 and Saudi’s STC are prominent telcos that are currently using Mavenir O-RAN, whereas America’s AT&T, a founding member of the O-RAN Alliance, has deployed Ericsson’s vRAN.
According to telecom-focussed research group Dell’Oro, Open RAN’s share in global deployments as compared to traditional RAN stood at 6-10% in 2023. It is forecast to grow in low single digits to reach 15-20% by 2027, research showed.
As China’s Huawei and ZTE are being pushed out from global telecom networks, operators are facing increased dependence on a select few players — Ericsson, Nokia and Samsung. Therefore, O-RAN is crucial for operators to negotiate multi-vendor contracts, experts said.
The believers
Not all companies are naysayers to the future of O-RAN.
Rahul Atri, managing director at Rakuten Symphony India, said that he expects large open RAN deployments beginning in 2026 worldwide.
“5G deployments were faster in India than other geographies and therefore, going with traditional tech stack was a natural choice for Indian telcos for Macro networks. But we believe that in the near term, orchestration will be the key enabler of driving efficiencies and automation across traditional, cloud native and O-RAN networks,” Atri said.
Europe’s largest telecom company Vodafone has committed to deploy O-RAN in 30% of its European sites by 2030. Likewise, Canada’s Telus and Spain’s Telefonica have made significant investments in the area. Closer home, Reliance Jio is building its own O-RAN 5G stack.
“It’s important to recognise that the transition to O-RAN is a journey, not an overnight switch,” said Marshal Correia, vice-president and general manager, India, South Asia, Red Hat. “Telecom is a complex ecosystem and no single vendor can drive it alone.”
“While traditional RAN solutions may be more prevalent today, it’s important to see this as part of a hybrid evolution rather than an either-or situation,” he added. “This hybrid approach ensures operators can leverage the best of both worlds while building a foundation for a fully open, interoperable future.”
Regarding the challenges, Correia pointed out a notable gap in system integrators capable of fully managing deployment and ecosystem issues. Despite this, he expressed optimism about the future of O-RAN in a “fast-scaling, cost-sensitive market like India, where Open-RAN can revolutionise network architecture by decoupling hardware from software”
