The milestone represents a significant proof of concept for Open RAN’s interoperability and network flexibility, according to the companies
In sum – what to know:
Key Open RAN milestones – The successful Open RAN call using Ericsson basebands and 1Finity radios — and the live deployment of a third-party rApp — show real-world interoperability and automation in action.
An operational reality – These Open RAN achievements mark AT&T’s shift from closed, single-vendor networks to a more agile, programmable, and modular architecture that supports vendor diversity and innovation.
$14 billion strategy gains traction – AT&T’s long-term Open RAN investment with Ericsson is beginning to deliver, with 70% of traffic targeted to run on open platforms by 2026.
AT&T, Ericsson, and 1Finity, a Fujitsu company, successfully executed the first Open RAN call using third-party radios at AT&T Labs. This achievement underscores the promise of Open RAN by illustrating how disparate hardware — Ericsson’s RAN Processor 6672 baseband and 1Finity radios — can interoperate through open interfaces. The collaboration is positioned as a pivotal move toward building more flexible, efficient, and vendor-diverse networks.
Rob Soni, AT&T’s VP of RAN Technology, said that the successful call accelerates the telco’s vision for an open, agile, and programmable wireless future. “Our collaboration with Ericsson and 1Finity as key RAN collaborators underscores the potential of Open RAN to enhance network flexibility, efficiency, and creativity,” he said.
Johan Hultell at Ericsson and Patrik Eriksson of 1Finity emphasized the call’s significance as proof of concept for Open RAN’s interoperability and network flexibility.
This latest announcement comes on the heels of another key milestone for the pair: AT&T last week became the first communication service provider globally to deploy a third-party RAN automation application (rApp) on a live production network. The rApp ran via Ericsson’s Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP) using the O-RAN Alliance’s R1 interface, successfully optimizing live network performance following extensive testing.
Ericsson described the deployment as a shift from legacy single-vendor Self‑Organizing Networks (SON) to open, multi-vendor programmable architectures. The move enables AT&T and other operators to mix-and-match best-in-class automation tools, fostering innovation across a broader developer ecosystem.
Going back further, in December 2023, AT&T awarded Ericsson a multi-year, $14 billion Open RAN contract, aiming for 70% of wireless traffic to flow through open platforms by late 2026. Ericsson will lead deployment across all major network layers. That commitment positions AT&T to reduce cost, improve operational agility, and future-proof its network by enabling multi-vendor modularity across its CU, DU, and RU layers.
These two milestones — functional third-party radios and live rApp automation — reinforce AT&T’s leadership in driving Open RAN adoption at commercial scale. As the ecosystem matures, operators and developers alike will watch to see which rApps follow, and how interoperable hardware partnerships evolve.
