The US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) favoured international cooperation in support of open RAN, a stance which could be a setback for domestic companies asking the government to preference home-grown suppliers.

In comments submitted to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the NTIA argued for global cooperation between governments and companies developing open RAN standards and products.

It explained strong non-domestic markets should be welcomed by the US because it will deliver “greater innovation overall”.

The NTIA warned against “intervention or manipulation by governments”, stating this could lead to “geographic fragmentation of the technology”. It urged the FCC to encourage the US Departments of State and Commerce to use their international influence to advocate for industry-led standards rather than “indigenous” technologies.

It urged the FCC to participate actively in global fora at which open RAN could be a topic of discussion, including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Finally, the NTIA noted the importance of cross-border spectrum harmonisation for open RAN and other mobile technologies. It explained the approach creates economies of scale for vendors by helping suppliers sell products in multiple markets.

While the NTIA has come out clearly in favour of international cooperation, some US vendors claim other countries are already investing heavily in domestic suppliers, putting US companies at a disadvantage unless the government does the same.

In comments filed with the FCC, open RAN vendor Mavenir encouraged the agency to consider “explicitly prioritising open RAN architecture; adopting preferences for US vendors; and incentivising US wireless operators to prefer US suppliers”.

Likewise, US manufacturer JMA Wireless argued for “policies that promote American innovation while staying true to our international obligations of fair play”.