The UK government previously announced efforts to increase the share of open and interoperable equipment in domestic networks
The governments of Australia, Canada and the United States have backed guidelines for telecoms companies, developed by the U.K., designed to build a more competitive and secure supply of equipment for telecoms networks, including for 5G and 6G, the U.K. government said in a release.
The government noted that the three nations are the first to endorse the UK’s principles for the development of Open RAN (O-RAN).
The four principles previously outlined by the U.K. government are:
- Open disaggregation, allowing elements of the RAN to be sourced from different suppliers.
- Standards-based compliance, allowing all suppliers to test solutions against standards in an open, neutral environment.
- Demonstrated interoperability, ensuring disaggregated elements work together as a fully functional system.
- Implementation neutrality, allowing suppliers to innovate and differentiate on the features and performance of their products.
“The U.K has set out a blueprint for telecoms firms across the world to design more open and secure networks. With the endorsement of Australia, Canada and the United States, the industry now has the clarity it needs to deliver a new generation of wireless infrastructure fit for the future,” U.K. Digital Infrastructure Minister Julia Lopez said.
The U.K. government has previously announced a joint ambition with local mobile network operators to increase the share of open and interoperable equipment in U.K. networks to 35% by 2030. The government noted that Vodafone and Telefonica are currently deploying their first live O-RAN sites using new market entrants.
“The United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the United States are committed to ensuring the security and resilience of our telecommunications networks, including by fostering a diverse supply chain and influencing the development of future telecommunications technologies such as 6G. Collectively, we recognize that open and interoperable architectures are one way of creating a more open, diverse and innovative market,” the four countries said in a joint statement.
The statement continued: “We plan to continue to share information on our respective policy approaches to telecommunications supplier diversity and encourage information sharing among our respective testing and research facilities, such as the UK’s SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Center (SONIC) and state-of-the-art UK Telecommunications Lab, Australia’s ‘Secure-G’ Connectivity Lab, once operational, and the Communications Research and Innovation Network of the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Institute for Telecommunication Sciences.”
The four nations also said that they expect to take a complementary and cooperative approach to telecommunications R&D, which promotes alignment of priorities and objectives.
“We have a shared view that open and interoperable architectures should be secure. Security should be a core consideration throughout the entire lifecycle of relevant components and systems, including in the design, development, deployment, operation and decommissioning stages. We intend to proactively address any concerns while these architectures develop. Sufficient vendor participation, transparency and openness in Open RAN standards developing entities could enable security researchers to identify and address potential issues rapidly as they arise,” the statement reads.
The four nations also highlighted that they aim to work together to encourage transparency in industry-led standards-setting processes to ensure that overall security is enhanced by open practices.
“We encourage industry to avoid fragmentation of the nascent market by focusing on the smallest possible number of options for disaggregation which still allows the neutral implementation of secure and performant networks,” they said. “This suggests a focus on developing the necessary number of specifications, splits, standards and standards bodies to promote interoperability and security, without unduly limiting market-based innovation.”
