2024年开放ran：为什么部署落后于预期

Open RAN in 2024:whydeployments arelaggingbehindexpectations INSIGHT SPOTLIGHT Each year, the GSMA Intelligence Network TransformationSurvey asks operators about their top networktransformation priorities. In 2023, the survey revealed that, Puttingaside theinterestin open RAN that operatorscontinue to show,it is clear thatdeploymentsarelaggingbehindinitiallofty expectations, potentially held back by despite slow deployment over the years, open RANremained a top network priority. In 2024, the strategic concerns with the technology. These concerns representobstacles that open RAN proponents will need to address. alwayspose integration challenges, with the potential to extenddeployment times and/or costs. Operators without access tocapable systems integration resources may find those timelines Analysis With almost a quarter of operators claiming they have commerciallydeployed open RAN,there areevidentlymisconceptionsabout thetechnology. Those may well extend to perceivedand/orreal risksposed by the technology.Regardless, as deployments continue to What about reliability? Reliability stood out as the single biggest concern for open RANdeployment in2023butdropped to the bottom half of the list in2024. This may seem surprising, particularly given the operatorfocus on network resilience and service quality. Add to this thepotential impact of a decoupled open RANarchitecture(with Security and performance to the fore Of the most highly rankedconcernsamong operatorssurveyed byGSMA Intelligence,security was No.1, followed by solutionperformance.Thisis amajor shift; in 2023, both were onlyminor The potential security challenges of open RAN are not a revelation.While proponents (rightly) argue that open interfaces are moresecure due to increased independent visibility, any new interfacescould represent a liability for operators if the processes to secure It is likely that reliability has not become any lessof animperative for operators; rather, open RAN deployments have not generatedany major negative proof points. This is good news for the marketand likely fuelled by infrastructure incumbents delivering single-source, end-to-end (integrated and tested) open RAN solutions.Operators looking to open RAN for supply chain diversity and those Concerns around open RAN security mirror the positioning ofsecurity as a business priority for operators; end-user security and As operators gain more experience with open RAN(whetherintrials or at the launchphase)andcustomerrequirementsintensifyover time, a focus on network performance is bound togrow– Source: GSMA Intelligence Network Transformation Survey 2024 What are your primary concerns with deploying open RAN productsand solutions into your network? (Top two choices–ranked) Nagging integration issues Taken together, concerns around systems integration andintegration with existing networks would have been the top concernin 2023. The same applies in 2024. Integration complexities havelong plagued open RAN’s reputation. Where an operator wants toexecute on the promise of multi-vendor support, the task of knitting Systems integration concerns around open RAN are ultimatelydriven by two dynamics: complexity and cost. Networktechnologies spanning diverse suppliers and new technologies will Open RAN in 2024: why deployments are lagging behind expectations Implications Mobile operators Network infrastructure suppliers •Prove it’s secure and performant–With security andperformance the top operator concerns for deploying openRAN, the priority for open RAN solution providers is obvious: •Understand your open RAN requirements–Each operatoris unique, withindividualpressuresandassets. Each openRAN deployment will also be unique but with common requirements in terms of security, integration and a need tomanage potential performance trade-offs depending on the demonstrate the technology can deliver on performancerequirements in a secure manner. Real-world case studies, •Consider the value of ‘closed’ open RAN–The relativelydominant position of integration in the hierarchy of open RANdeployment concerns signals that deploying a new, opentechnology in a secure, reliable and high-performance manneris not easy, requiring skilled integration capabilities. Early on, •Differentiate concernsfromobstacles–Beyondtheirdeployment concerns, operators note that the primaryobstacles to open RAN deployment include technologymaturity and a limited vendor ecosystem. A focus on maturityaligns well with concerns around security, reliability and •Deliver open RAN, without open RAN–While supply chaindiversity and cloudified operations are headline open RANvalue propositions, so too are the ability to meet niche marketrequirements and delivering advanced RAN optimisation viathe RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC). However, the latter twodo not depend on open RAN. RAN vendors without open RAN •Don’t ignore costs and energy–Open RAN solution costsand energy efficiency ranked last in the l