Open RAN offers huge potential for Indian startups, ET Telecom

Open RAN (Radio Access Network) technology has the potential to offer significant opportunities to Indian startups to build an ecosystem that can be implemented not only in India but also globally.

“Our industry will definitely emerge as a global Open RAN technology provider. BSNL will also start Open RAN trials next month,” said RK Upadhyay, CEO, Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), during the opening keynote address at ETTelecom’s virtual Open RAN Summit.

The Open RAN market is currently worth around $2 billion and is expected to grow to $15.6 billion by 2027 and $32 billion by 2033. With RAN accounting for 70% of a telecom operator’s capex, global and Indian telecom operators are widely exploring the possibilities of Open RAN.

The government is taking a number of initiatives to promote Open RAN, an alternative to traditional RAN deployments. This will allow for greater innovation and a diversified supply chain to ensure that supplies come from trusted sources. New players are emerging in this segment, allowing them to compete with established players, he said.

According to experts, Open RAN has huge potential for startups, offering numerous opportunities to innovate and contribute to the telecom ecosystem by leveraging open and interoperable standards. The main advantage is cost reduction, as it allows telecom operators to mix and match hardware and software from different vendors. There are about 45 Open RAN deployments in countries around the world, and testing includes another 31 deployments in different locations.

But there are challenges related to interoperability, integration and other issues, he added, and adding open interfaces will also raise security concerns, unlike traditional “black box” systems where implementation details are not transparent.

“Security measures need to be carefully considered. There is also the issue of performance – can Open RAN meet the KPIs achieved by traditional systems? This is an ongoing challenge, but it will be resolved over time. Support from vendors and integrator partners needs to be aligned to ensure Open RAN’s success,” Upadhyay said.

Another advantage of Open RAN is its use of open source software, which is a powerful tool that will reduce fragmentation and increase interoperability. It will be publicly available, allowing anyone to review, fix bugs, and resolve security holes.

In addition, Open RAN adopts a cloud-native architecture that leverages principles such as elasticity, resilience, and automation. Deploying Open RAN in the cloud allows operators to benefit from cost savings through resource pooling, automated management, etc. The cloud-native architecture also enables operators to scale their networks more efficiently, enabling them to respond quickly to changing market demands,” said the C-DOT executive director.

Published on 3rd August 2024 at 19:00 IST

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