Rakuten Mobile will deploy Open RAN radios from Fujitsu’s 1Finity division. Based on Qualcomm’s Dragonwing QRU100 silicon, the Open RAN-compliant RUs are being deployed to boost Rakuten’s network capacity in Japan. The radio boasts promising energy consumption gains and provides some fodder for the somewhat sidelined Open RAN community. This comes as Dell’Oro, a respected RAN bean counter, has upwardly revised its Open RAN projections this week. It previously caused a stir when it revised Open RAN fortunes down sharply, but it now believes that after a difficult short-term outlook, the long-term picture is better – with Open RAN benefiting from stronger interest that coincides with 6G investments. This is especially due to growing interest in Open Fronthaul. However, Dell’Oro…