U.S. wants to replace proprietary telecom gear with Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) technology
Dish Wireless is using Open Radio Access Network technology to help it build its 5G network
Alan Davidson, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for communications and information and NTIA administrator said, “The highly consolidated global market for wireless equipment creates serious risks for both consumers and U.S. companies.” Davidson is talking about security risks that have continued to follow companies like Huawei and ZTE. Both firms have been accused of hiding “back doors” into their equipment that collect personal and corporate data and send it to servers in Beijing. Both firms have denied having back doors in their equipment.
Returning to the U.S., the plan is to replace proprietary telecom equipment from firms like Nokia, Ericsson, and Huawei with ORAN (Open Radio Access Network). ORAN uses standard computer parts to replace the networking equipment that wireless providers have previously been forced to buy. The program will start with a public comment period that runs through January 23rd. Money for the program comes from the Chips and Science Act.
Dish Wireless is already using ORAN to help build its 5G network
ORAN is already being used by Dish Network in the U.S. and Japan’s Rakuten. Back in May, before the U.S. announced this initiative, Dish signed a deal with Samsung and stated, “Samsung’s 5G solutions will play an integral role in our network expansion, giving us the flexibility to deploy our cloud-native network with software-based solutions that support advanced services and operational scalability.”
The statement, made by John Swieringa, President and Chief Operating Officer, Dish Wireless, added that “We look forward to working with Samsung, whose industry leadership in vRAN and ORAN innovation will help to support our vision of delivering open, interoperable cloud-based 5G services to consumers and enterprises across the U.S.”
Now that the U.S. plans on spending $1.5 billion to deploy ORAN, companies involved in the industry should benefit from the goal of the United States to keep Huawei and ZTE out of all U.S. wireless networks.
