Commitment opens way for broader range of equipment suppliers
Vodafone group has pledged to use Open RAN technology on at least 2,600 5G masts in the UK by 2027, reports the Financial Times. The decision represents the largest commitment so far by any European MSP, and will result in the companies using equipment from technology companies outside of the traditional supply chain of Huawei, Nokia, Ericsson and ZTE. Open RAN enables the interoperability of components from different suppliers. It is regarded as especially suitable for rural areas, with smaller numbers of users. However, Vodafone believes that the commitment paves the way for Open RAN to ‘push into the mainstream’, says the paper.