Open RAN's Promising Future For 5G Design

Say the term “5G” and consumers often think about getting the most out of their smartphones or tablets, setting up a personal Wi-Fi hotspot, watching video on demand in an airport, or making video calls to their family on the other side of the country. Electronic engineers and designers may think that way too, but they must also consider the demands that 5G systems and infrastructure put on their work. Over the years, key players in the telecommunication industry have created an ecosystem that forces service providers like ATT, T-Mobile and others to be locked with specific equipment vendors into various system configurations.

Open RAN (Open Radio Access Networks) is a standardized approach to RAN hardware and software disaggregation. Open RAN will foster network vendor competition and innovation. It is a methodology to open up these systems for manufacturers to be able to service these networks. Open RAN offers greater flexibility and choice in designing and implementing 5G products.

Traditionally, the radio access network components were tightly integrated and controlled by a single vendor, limiting the options for product designers. By using the Open RAN methodology, designers can leverage a more open and standardized architecture, allowing them to mix and match components from several vendors. This flexibility enables designers to select the hardware and software solutions that work best for them, leading to improved product performance, innovation, and cost-effectiveness.