It is almost 1.5 years since the OpenRF Association was formed with the goal of creating an open 5G ecosystem for smartphones. It is devising specifications that would allow interoperability of hardware and software, across multiple RF front end (RFFE) and modem chipsets within devices. As with all open initiatives, the official aim is to drive down costs, spur innovation and lower barriers for smaller players, but there is also the unspoken but clear agenda of reducing Qualcomm’s dominance of handset modems, which has been expanding rapidly into the RFFE too, since the launch of its RF360 platform. The first specs were released late last year, and the group’s president, Kevin Schoenrock (who comes from RF chip supplier Qorvo), told…