Nokia has embraced open RAN to a far greater extent than its two main rivals, Ericsson and Huawei, and with Samsung is the biggest supplier driving the platform forward.
This is likely to bring several benefits to the Finnish vendor, despite the potential damage to its own traditional RAN business model and margins. It provides it with a new way to engage with large operators, at a time when it is still undoing the damage done by mistakes with its first-phased 5G silicon and consequent loss of some contracts.
It may, if Open RAN takes off in macro networks, make it easier for Nokia – whose market share is smaller than that of the other two big vendors – to replace Ericsson or Huawei because supplier lock-ins will be eased. This is especially relevant at a time when some operators, especially in Europe and rural USA, are being forced to swap out Huawei equipment.
And Nokia can hedge its bets, developing vRAN portfolios that can support open or closed interfaces – and while it may still hope the latter prevail, it will have seized some high ground along the way.
Its latest move is to partner with Brazil’s Telecommunications Research and Development Center (CPQD) to develop 5G Open RAN applications including for fixed wireless access (FWA), smart cities, Industrial IoT and mission-critical networks, all of which will be customized for the needs of the Brazilian market.
“This important partnership will explore the potential for innovative 5G use cases that will have real world value in Brazil across a range of different areas, such as smart cities and fixed wireless access. Our RAN Intelligent Controller will play a critical role in this research, helping to explore and trial new cutting edge use cases that will put Brazil at the forefront in the 5G era,” said Ari Kynäslahti, head of technology and strategy at Nokia Mobile Networks.
Nokia currently supplies all three of Brazil’s largest operators, TIM Brasil, Telefónica and América Móvil. The Brazil government has said it will commission a 5G private wireless network for its own use, in the Federal District.