LIVE FROM TIP FYUZ24, DUBLIN: Freshly appointed Telecom Infra Project (TIP) chair Rob Soni (pictured) argued there is an opportunity for non-incumbents to grab a slice of the open RAN sector thanks to the early work by big-name operators including his regular paymaster AT&T.

In the opening presentation of the organisation’s third annual FYUZ event, Soni noted much of the early momentum around the potential for open RAN to transform the telecom industry had been driven by big names.

He pointed to work by AT&T and Ericsson, a huge $14 billion partnership which has had a “significant impact on the industry overall”, as they work to transform the industry by moving to scale open RAN technologies.

But Soni believes while large companies have driven headline-grabbing transformation, “there is a gap, there is an opportunity for the disruptors, for the non-incumbents to now insert themselves” into networks.

“Once we come with scale solutions that can easily be rolled out then the smaller operatives will be able to deploy them without the complexity, without the challenges that currently a lot of open RAN operators are facing.”

Man speaking on stage at a conference with a presentation slide projected behind him. The slide displays a circular photo of a person, labeled

Progress
TIP executive director Kristian Toivo (pictured, left) later explained the organisation’s progress towards the goal Soni described, with 40 badges issued so far in 2024, more than in any previous year.

The badges demonstrate the level of maturity of products against specific technical requirements, though Toivo said the focus in 2024 has been on improving the process to be “more disciplined” than ever before.

Other highlights include the release of a first end-to-end system test plan for open RAN and a multi-operator proof-of-concept for IP over DWDM, “a very technical concept that will for sure be talked about here”.

Toivo also highlighted the testing of nine related apps, an open transponder he said boosts the capacity of backbone networks and the deployment of more than 100,000 open Wi-Fi access points, “almost double compared with last year”.

TIP is also adapting to the AI trend, starting a specific group to explore the technology, along with establishing teams to explore neutral-host networks and issuing 800 certificates for 1,500 learners participating in the TIP academy.

Toivo said the academy achievement should not be ignored, with people the key element in the transformation of the telecoms industry. “At the end of the day it’s about people and talent, and learning, training is essential.”