Of the major RAN vendors, Nokia and Samsung have been most active in embracing the open RAN movement, while Ericsson, Huawei and ZTE have stayed aloof. Now, Nokia is clearly gearing up for the big gamble – help break down the traditional locked-down supply chain on which it has made its fortune, in the hope of emerging as the dominant mobile vendor in a more open environment, at the expense both of its traditional competitors, and its new start-up challengers. Ericsson has joined the O-RAN Alliance but not otherwise shown much public support. The Chinese vendors are not given to open initiatives, although they do contribute significantly to standards and even some open source developments. Their absence has made it…