Biden Administration Bets on Open RAN to Challenge Huawei's 5G Dominance, But Global Reception is Mixed
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Open RAN is a new cellular tower technology promoted by the Biden admin to challenge Chinese company Huawei's dominance in 5G network equipment. It allows for mix-and-match parts from vendors.
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The administration is spending over $2 billion across agencies like Commerce and State to evangelize Open RAN globally, seeing it as key for U.S. companies to compete with Huawei.
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Reception is mixed abroad - some see Open RAN as an unproven technology being pushed for U.S. interests. Europe is more cautious as Ericsson and Nokia could lose business.
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Major operators like AT&T have started signing Open RAN deals, but uptake is still slow. The technology is expected to have 7-30% global market share by 2024.
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Promoters see momentum building as more vendors like Samsung move to support Open RAN. But issues like managing multiple suppliers and ensuring security remain.