Open RAN automation market to reach $700 million in annual investment by 2027, SNS Telecom & IT reports

SNS Telecommunications and IT RAN, SON, RIC, xApps and rApps Automation in the 5G Era: 2024-2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies and Forecasts The report predicts that global spending on RIC, SMO, and x/rApps will grow at a CAGR of over 125% from 2024 to 2027, as a second wave of Open RAN infrastructure deployments by brownfield operators begin. The Open RAN automation market will ultimately account for nearly $700 million in annual investment by the end of 2027 as standardization gaps and technical challenges in the SMO-to-Non-RT RIC interface, application portability across RIC platforms, and x/rApps conflict mitigation are addressed.

The broader RAN automation software and services market, which includes Open RAN automation, RAN vendor SON solutions, third-party C-SON platforms, intelligent baseband-integrated RAN applications, RAN planning and optimization software, and test and measurement solutions, is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 8% during the same period.

According to the research firm, while Open RAN automation efforts have seemingly lost steam beyond the field trial phase over the past few years, several commercial engagements have emerged since then, with much of the initial focus being on SMO, Non-RT RIC, and rApps for automated management and optimization in Open RAN, purpose-built, and hybrid RAN environments. As part of a five-year, $14 billion Open RAN infrastructure contract with Ericsson, AT&T is adopting the Swedish telecom giant’s SMO and Non-RT RIC solution to replace two legacy C-SON systems. In neighboring Canada, Telus has also initiated an SMO and RIC platform deployment along with a multi-vendor Open RAN deployment to transform up to 50% of its RAN footprint and replace Huawei equipment in its 4G/5G network.

Similar efforts are underway in other regions as well. In Europe, for example, Swisscom is deploying an SMO and Non-RT RIC platform to provide multi-technology network management and automation capabilities as part of a broader effort to future-proof its brownfield mobile network, while Deutsche Telekom is pursuing plans to develop its own vendor-neutral SMO framework. Open RAN automation is also expected to be introduced as part of Vodafone Group’s global tender to refresh 170,000 base stations.