The Nordic network equipment providers (NEPs), Ericsson and Nokia, may have some cause for complacency, despite the encroachment of Samsung on their RAN turf – but with an estimated global RAN market share below 5%, the Korean vendor is easier to deal with than Huawei. However, they are showing increasing awareness, at least in public statements, that they need to continue to stay well ahead of the challengers that may be enabled by Open RAN in future. That may mean embracing some open interfaces, as Nokia and Samsung have done to a certain extent. But more importantly, it means continuing to lead in performance and in support for emerging capabilities – which will help them to retain their market share … Continue reading NEPs will retain power if they can make 5G Release 18 truly meaningful