Insights

The do’s and don’ts of selecting an Open RAN vendor

Rajeev Gandhi, Head of Technology, Telco Network Engineering

With the launch of the Open Radio Access Network (RAN), the telecommunications industry is headed for a dramatic upheaval. An Open RAN (O-RAN) 5G network architecture provides a flexible, affordable replacement for the conventional single vendor, locked-in infrastructure.

The O-RAN ecosystem consists of different vendors offering various network components that can be seamlessly connected to give operators more control over their networks, lower costs, and improve performance. However, many network operators find the O-RAN vendor selection process painful. In this blog, I’ll share my insights on the dos and don'ts of selecting the best O-RAN vendors for your 5G network.

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Factors to consider when choosing an O-RAN vendor

The success of your network implementation depends on the decisions you make as you select O-RAN vendors. Therefore, consider the points below in your selection process.

Open RAN vendor selection: The vendor’s O-RAN expertise

Since O-RAN technology is still a relatively new idea, only a few suppliers have experience with the O-RAN ecosystem. Therefore, you must consider how new the vendor is to the marketplace. Selecting a vendor with a successful record of O-RAN network deployments is essential. You must also confirm that the vendor you select understands the unique requirements of your network.

Open RAN Network Needs and Requirements

• Functionality and features: What specific features and functionalities are crucial for your network? Consider coverage, capacity, latency, security, and integration with existing infrastructure.
• Performance and scalability: Assess the vendor's solutions in terms of performance metrics like throughput, latency, and future scalability capabilities to meet evolving demands.
• Compliance and certification: Ensure the vendor's solutions adhere to O-RAN standards and interfaces, guaranteeing vendor lock-in avoidance and interoperability.
• Scope and scale of past O-RAN projects: The vendor's experience with previous O-RAN initiatives is another important consideration. Make sure the vendor has successfully completed O-RAN projects comparable to yours. This analysis will offer a better understanding of how well-versed the vendor is at managing the particular demands of your network project. You should also ask the vendor for customer references.
• Shared responsibility percentage: Next, you must consider the shared responsibility percentage. Since cooperation between various vendors is necessary for O-RAN networks, each vendor is responsible for a portion of the network's performance. Therefore, you must ensure the selected vendor is prepared to accept the associated obligations and cooperate with the other suppliers.
• Vendor costs: This is particularly important to consider ensuring you can meet your financial targets. Make sure there aren’t any hidden fees, and that the vendor's pricing fits your budget. It's crucial to evaluate the prices of several vendors to determine which one provides the best value for your money.
• Solution deployment speed: As with any technology implementation, solution deployment speed is crucial. Therefore, you must ensure that the vendors you select can install solutions swiftly and efficiently.
• Rapid O-RAN problem resolution: O-RAN networks sometimes experience problems, so you must ensure your chosen vendor will respond quickly when issues arise. To reduce downtime, you must confirm that the vendor has a committed support staff with the deep knowledge and skills to manage any difficulties as quickly as possible.
• Up-to-date knowledge of O-RAN technologies: You must ensure that the vendor you select is current with the most recent advancements in the rapidly developing field of O-RAN 5G networking. You must also make sure that the vendor's staff is skilled in the newest O-RAN deployment techniques.
• Partnerships and ecosystem: Consider the vendor's partnerships with other key players in the O-RAN ecosystem, offering broader compatibility and innovation potential.
• Sustainability and long-term vision: Choose vendors who demonstrate a commitment to sustainable partnerships, ongoing support, and a shared vision for the future of O-RAN.
• Scalability and adaptability: Finally, you must ensure that the vendor you select can scale the solution up or down to meet the needs of your network. The vendor's solution must also seamlessly interface with other vendor technologies and be future proof to adapt to emerging technologies easily.

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Common mistakes to avoid when selecting an O-RAN vendor

To optimize your chances of success throughout your 5G network deployment, it's crucial to avoid these pitfalls when choosing an O-RAN vendor. Let's delve into some of the potential areas of concern:

• Neglecting to verify proprietary software licenses: This is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when selecting an O-RAN provider. Although open standards are the foundation of an O-RAN approach to 5G telecommunications networking, proprietary hardware and software are still used in O-RAN technologies. Ensure the vendor you select has the proper licenses to use the required proprietary components. If you don’t verify software licenses, your company may face legal consequences, and your network could have stability issues.
• Working with an inexperienced market player: Getting involved with a new participant in the O-RAN market is another error to avoid. As O-RAN technologies continue developing, the market is exploding with many new competitors. While selecting a new vendor with reduced prices could be alluring, it's crucial to consider their experience and reputation. If you choose a vendor with little experience, you could face delays, cost overruns, and subpar network performance.
• Choosing too many O-RAN vendors: While collaboration between several suppliers is necessary for an O-RAN network, too many vendors could overly complicate your network architecture and cause interoperability problems. To guarantee top-notch network performance, you must ensure that all of the selected vendors can cooperate with each other. It's crucial to pick a primary vendor and have secondary backup providers available.
• Waiting too long to share business requirements: Last but not least, when choosing an O-RAN vendor, you must communicate your company's needs to the vendor as soon as possible. You could face increased expenses and network deployment delays by delaying the requirements exchange. Be sure any potential O-RAN network provider knows your business requirements and can meet your needs.

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Talk to the O-RAN experts

You can select O-RAN vendors by carefully considering the factors discussed in this article and avoiding common mistakes. Choosing well-vetted vendors that meet your needs can reduce your costs, improve network performance, and enjoy easier, more streamlined network management. Innovative O-RAN technologies are transforming the telecommunications sector, and selecting the proper vendors is a crucial first step to reap its rewards.

UST telecommunications experts are here to help you navigate the 5G O-RAN vendor ecosystem so you can choose the most appropriate primary and back-up vendors for your network requirements and business needs. A team of O-RAN Specialists at UST can help you gain unbiased insights and market intelligence. With our O-RAN knowledge and experience, we can help make sure you consider crucial factors while avoiding common pitfalls as you select vendors. Please visit us at ust.com.