US Ignite Joins Open RAN Policy Coalition as Founding Member

WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 5, 2020 – US Ignite, on behalf of its Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) program co-led with Northeastern University, announces it is joining with 30 other leading global technology companies to launch the Open RAN Policy Coalition. The goal of the Coalition is to promote policies that lead to greater interoperability and innovation in the Radio Access Network (RAN). We believe that by supporting open RAN initiatives, we can accelerate the development of advanced wireless networks including the rollout of 5G and its successors.

The telecommunications industry is breaking apart the individual components of the Radio Access Network (RAN) in order to introduce greater flexibility and control into network operations. The concept of open RAN refers to making the interfaces between those components open and interoperable.

With standard open interfaces, not only will network operators be able to use hardware and software solutions from multiple technology providers, but new vendor companies will have an easier path to enter the market. This will ensure greater competition and vitality in the global telecom supply chain.

“As leaders of the PAWR program alongside our colleagues at Northeastern University, US Ignite is a strong supporter of research and development work aimed at making telecommunications networks more flexible, more robust, and more effective at enabling new applications and services,” said Joe Kochan, PAWR Project Director and CEO of US Ignite. “The move toward open RAN architectures will facilitate that process, which makes launching the Open RAN Policy Coalition an important step in supporting the US federal government as it seeks to adopt new policies that drive continued economic growth.”

The Open RAN Policy Coalition joins several other open RAN efforts already underway, including the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance (OSA), the operator-led O-RAN Alliance, and the Facebook-led Telecom Infrastructure Project (TIP), among others. The Coalition complements those efforts to develop technical standards by providing a policy-focused organization dedicated to furthering open RAN development.

In addition to becoming a founding member of the Open RAN Policy Coalition, US Ignite is part of the OSA, works closely with the O-RAN Alliance through the implementation of O-RAN solutions on our PAWR platforms, and counts TIP among the members of the PAWR Industry Consortium, which consists of 35 private-sector companies and associations in the US wireless industry.

Open RAN Policy Coalition founding members include Airspan, Altiostar, AWS, AT&T, Cisco, CommScope, Dell, DISH Network, Facebook, Fujitsu, Google, IBM, Juniper Networks, Intel, Mavenir, Microsoft, NEC Corporation, NewEdge Signal Solutions, NTT, Oracle, Parallel Wireless, Qualcomm, Rakuten, Samsung Electronics America, Telefonica, US Ignite, Verizon, VMWare, Vodafone, World Wide Technology, and XCOM-Labs.

For more information on the Open RAN Policy Coalition, visit: www.openRANpolicy.org

###

About US Ignite

US Ignite is a high-tech nonprofit accelerating the smart community movement by guiding communities into the connected future, creating a path for private sector growth, and advancing technology research that’s at the heart of smarter development. For more information, visit www.us-ignite.org. For more information on the PAWR program, visit www.advancedwireless.org.