Chunghwa Telecom, Deutsche Telekom, and ITRI highlight the path forward for Open RAN interoperability, testing, and ecosystem collaboration
Although interface standardization and interoperability testing have slowed commercial deployment of Open RAN, this architecture—marked by cost efficiency and technological flexibility—is now reaching an inflection point. Driven by significant long-term commitments from major brownfield operators in key global markets, and growing alignment between the O-RAN Alliance’s specification efforts and 3GPP’s emerging study of 6G standards, Open RAN appears poised to define the future of mobile network design and operation. But what further steps are needed to accelerate global alignment and speed time-to-value for operators, vendors, and users?
To explore these pivotal questions, a recent Mobile World Congress panel hosted on the Taiwan pavilion brought together industry leaders actively shaping the Open RAN landscape. Panelists included Dr. Chung-Yung Chia, President of Network Technology Group of Chunghwa Telecom; Andreas Gladisch, Deutsche Telekom and Consortium Lead of the influential i14y Lab; and Maggie Chao, Division Director at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).
Over the course of the conversation, the speakers delved into critical topics essential to realizing Open RAN’s full potential. They considered measures to accelerate maturity across the Open RAN supply chain, emphasizing interoperability and reliable integration of multi-vendor solutions. The panel also examined the pivotal role of rigorous testing, exploring which aspects—from network security to performance validation—should be prioritized in the coming years. Further, the discussion highlighted collaborative models that telecom operators can adopt, as well as recommendations for stakeholders across the ecosystem aiming to drive adoption and ensure Open RAN’s commercial viability globally.
As pointed out by both Chunghwa Telecom’s Chia and ITRI’s Chao, Taiwan, at the state-level, has a vested interest in the global and local success of Open RAN. Chao, noting the key role Taiwan’s ICT industry plays in the broader global technology supply chain and ITRI’s own investment in a carrier-grade, end-to-end testing lab, said, “We do think it’s a very good opportunity for our industry to support more of the Open RAN’s diverse supply chain.” Chao further emphasized that by proactively engaging with global operators, Taiwan’s technology providers can strengthen their competitive positions internationally, reinforcing Taiwan’s strategic aim to leverage Open RAN for economic growth and technological innovation. She called out ongoing work within Taiwan to test Open RAN for vertical industries like manufacturing and agriculture, and emphasized the need for Taiwanese vendors to expand work with global partners.
Chia echoed this point, stressing that Taiwanese Open RAN equipment vendors need to be better supported by network operators so their solutions can be field-tested and hardened for scaled deployment. He said Chunghwa itself works with incumbent RAN vendors Ericsson and Nokia, but would still benefit from a broader vendor base in service of both technological capabilities and cost efficiencies. Bottomline, he said, “I think the long-term road to go for operators and also for the O-RAN vendor[s] is a very, very difficult road to go. I think if we want success, we need to work hard to work together.”
Deutsche Telekom was an early-mover on Open RAN, and has notably collaborated with other major European operators to define vendor requirements as massive RAN modernization programs unfold across the continent. Andreas Gladisch, Deutsche Telekom and consortium lead of the i14y Lab, acknowledged Open RAN challenges around integration, market dynamics and testing frameworks, but made clear that disaggregated, modular RAN “is still the right way to go, and we are highly committed to do that.”
With regard to how Deutsche Telekom thinks about overcoming the challenges facing Open RAN, he described a two-sided approach: first, collaborating closely with their vendors, including Fujitsu and Nokia, on real-world field deployments to address integration challenges; second, leveraging the i14y Lab alongside other operators to “develop solutions for simple integration, improve the test specifications, give feedback to [the] O-RAN Alliance,” thereby avoiding duplicated efforts and enhancing efficiency.
The panelists agreed that continued uptake of Open RAN will depend on collaboration between operators, vendors and other stakeholders to drive interoperability and scale with the end goal of building a platform for innovation for key use cases like AI and energy savings. Chia stressed that Open RAN vendors should focus on specialization to create a more competitive market. “There’s a long way to go if you want success in Open RAN,” he said.
Continuing to explore how a vibrant Open RAN vendor community is key to driving adoption, Gladisch said, “Operators must continue to collaborate to develop the ecosystem jointly to make sure that we reach the right level of test specifications.” He said Open RAN-based campus, enterprise, and private 5G networks are also attractive growth areas. “All of them are important for the overall market size and scale matters in this industry, so we must help the other parts in the industry to take Open RAN components.”
Ultimately, the panelists agreed that openness and cooperation are essential to fully leverage Open RAN’s potential. ITRI’s Chao concluded: “We need to be more open because under this open architecture, we definitely need more innovation, some more new ideas, so that we can create more opportunity.”
