AT&T’s CTO, Andre Fuetsch, is now requiring all its RAN hardware suppliers to support Open RAN specifications, though the timing for commercial deployments remains somewhat uncertain. However, he told Recon Analytics that this would start with indoor networks, since they are based on small cells and are relatively simple to install and operate. “Our first implementations here will be indoor and in-building,” he said. “If you have issues [with an indoor network] you can always fall back to the outdoor network.” Its next stage, once it has proven the platform indoors, would be to extend Open RAN to rural outdoor networks, which are also simpler than dense, urban networks. This mirrors the trend among many operators to deploy the new…