New alliance goals to ship operator-ready 5G options as Open RAN adoption lags
Rakuten Symphony and Tejas Networks have introduced a strategic partnership to develop built-in Open RAN options and speed up the worldwide enlargement of open, interoperable 5G networks. The collaboration brings collectively Rakuten Symphony’s cloud-native telecom experience with Tejas Networks’ portfolio of optical and broadband entry merchandise to ship end-to-end options for cell operators worldwide.
Beneath the settlement, each corporations will collectively develop and market 5G options that combine Rakuten Symphony’s Open RAN and cloud platforms with Tejas Networks’ optical transmission, broadband entry, and transport applied sciences. The objective is to offer operators with versatile, cost-effective choices for constructing next-generation networks utilizing open requirements and multi-vendor interoperability.
Sharad Sriwastawa, president of Rakuten Symphony, stated: “By combining Rakuten Symphony’s cloud-native software program and orchestration capabilities with Tejas Networks’ confirmed radio expertise, we hope to ship open, versatile and high-performing community options that meet the calls for of as we speak’s quickly evolving telecom panorama.”
A troubled trajectory
Open RAN income dropped by 83% in 2024 in contrast with 2023. “Whoa,” wrote Joe Madden, founder and chief analyst at Cellular Specialists, in a chunk for RCR Wi-fi Information. “Virtually all Open RAN income has come from greenfield networks thus far. Legacy community operators have carried out trials and checks, however the income has been trivial thus far,” he added, describing 2024 as being “on the backside of the Grand Canyon.”
Regardless of years of business hype, Open RAN adoption has fallen wanting early expectations. Initially hailed as a transformative drive that might break vendor lock-in, scale back prices and speed up innovation, Open RAN has as a substitute seen sluggish uptake past just a few high-profile greenfield deployments, like Rakuten Cellular in Japan and Dish Wi-fi within the U.S. Whereas pilots and restricted deployments proceed throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas, large-scale industrial adoption by established operators has been hesitant at finest.
One key cause is the complexity of integrating Open RAN into present networks. The disaggregated, multi-vendor mannequin on the coronary heart of its promise brings important challenges in interoperability, efficiency tuning and operations administration. Many operators — particularly these with mature networks — have been reluctant to tackle the danger and operational overhead that comes with stitching collectively {hardware} and software program from a number of suppliers.
Value financial savings, one other oft-cited Open RAN profit, have additionally confirmed elusive within the brief time period. As Chief Know-how Officer Eben Albertyn instructed RCR Wi-fi Information: “I’ll be trustworthy with you — what I don’t see but is an outright price profit, on simply shopping for the stuff.”
Further integration, testing and administration burdens usually offset the anticipated capex benefits. And questions stay about whether or not Open RAN can match the efficiency, vitality effectivity and have richness of conventional, single-vendor RAN options, particularly at scale in dense city environments.
Can partnerships like this shift the outlook?
The expertise’s future might hinge on partnerships like this one, which goal to beat key adoption challenges by delivering built-in, operator-ready options. By combining Open RAN with optical and broadband entry, Rakuten and Tejas are addressing a crucial friction level: guaranteeing that disaggregated community parts work seamlessly with transport infrastructure.
Operators have lengthy been asking: Who will assist us combine Open RAN with the whole lot else? This partnership hints at how the business is starting to reply — with alliances that supply operator-ready, pre-integrated options slightly than leaving operators to assemble advanced multi-vendor techniques on their very own. This might mark a shift away from fragmented vendor relationships towards extra cohesive Open RAN answer suppliers, serving to to construct operator confidence and pace adoption.
Furthermore, with Tejas backed by Tata Group, this partnership displays how main industrial and nationwide champions are getting into the Open RAN house. That involvement brings essential monetary power, political backing and ecosystem attain — elements that would assist propel Open RAN past greenfield tasks and into broader, mainstream market acceptance.