For starters, automation and cloud-native tooling are making Open RAN extra scalable, not much less
Regardless of the very actual progress made round Open RAN, just a few myths nonetheless linger. Many nonetheless imagine the know-how stays experimental, whereas others assume it is just appropriate for restricted, rural deployments — not dense, city, or complicated RAN environments. Wind River CTO Paul Miller instructed RCR Wi-fi Information that these assumptions are outdated. In his view, Open RAN has moved effectively past early trials and is now a mature, carrier-grade know-how being deployed at scale.
Listed here are just a few of probably the most persistent myths nonetheless circulating:
Fantasy #1: Open RAN efficiency and optimization are missing
One frequent false impression is that Open RAN networks can not match the reliability or efficiency of conventional RAN programs. Miller pushed again strongly towards that concept, pointing to years of ecosystem progress.
“Collaboration on requirements, well-defined interfaces, profitable Plug fests, vendor interoperability certifications have all helped increase the ecosystem, cut back interworking complexity, and productize open parts for a telco community,” he stated.
He added that executives from international CSPs have confirmed Open RAN deployments are comparable — and in some instances superior — to conventional RAN networks when it comes to reliability and efficiency.
Nonetheless, Miller famous that optimization in a disaggregated community seems to be totally different from that in a monolithic one. Historically, tuning targeted largely on RF efficiency, because the RAN stack itself was assumed to be validated and optimized. “The most typical misunderstanding is that tuning a disaggregated RAN is just a virtualized model of tuning a standard ‘monolithic’ RAN,” he defined.
As a substitute, complexity shifts into the cloud platform layer, together with {hardware} accelerators, real-time working programs, and the software program wanted to ship the constant latency and jitter efficiency required by the 5G distributed unit.
Along with cloud platform optimization, Miller stated operators should additionally deal with tuning throughout a number of components of the stack, together with:
- Energy consumption optimization
- Fronthaul and midhaul interface latency
- Useful resource pooling throughout compute, storage, and reminiscence underneath various hundreds
Fantasy #2: Open RAN is more durable to function at scale
One other lingering perception is that Open RAN introduces operational complexity that makes large-scale deployment unrealistic. Miller argued the alternative: that automation and cloud-native tooling are making Open RAN extra scalable, not much less. “Operational effectivity is the lifeline of a telecom community deployed at scale,” he stated. “Effectivity can solely be achieved through automating Day 0 to Day n operations of the community.”
He pointed to centralized monitoring and automation platforms as key enablers, changing vendor-specific processes with repeatable, software-driven workflows.
Collectively, he stated, these capabilities have helped remodel Open RAN right into a carrier-grade operational mannequin that matches — and in some instances improves upon — the effectivity of conventional RAN, whereas accelerating innovation and repair deployment.
Fantasy #3: Open RAN introduces new safety dangers
Safety has additionally been a significant concern since Open RAN’s early days, significantly round accountability in a disaggregated structure with extra interfaces.
However Miller emphasised that Open RAN doesn’t inherently enhance danger. “When correctly applied, it may strengthen safety posture via better transparency, automation, and management,” he stated. Whereas Open RAN does increase the variety of interfaces in a telecom community, he argued it additionally allows a zero-trust, cloud-native safety mannequin that’s tough to realize in closed, proprietary RAN programs.
Fantasy #4: TCO is the one metric that issues
Lastly, Miller stated Open RAN’s success shouldn’t be judged solely on price financial savings.
“Whereas TCO is a compelling metric to measure the success of Open RAN, it is very important perceive the worth a disaggregated community brings to the operator,” he stated. The actual worth, he continued, lies in operational agility — sooner characteristic deployment, autoscaling, and steady optimization.
He pointed to 1 U.S. operator that changed its cloud platform throughout 25,000 industrial websites in simply three months, a shift he stated would have been almost inconceivable in a standard RAN setting.
