As new technologies come closer to at-scale deployment, even their supporters inevitably become more cautious, or at least realistic. So Nokia, which embraced Open RAN quickly as a way to outwit Ericsson, has made some surprisingly strong comments about the platform’s failure to reduce cost, while Rakuten Symphony has shifted its focus away from mature markets and operators, and says emerging markets and countries with “adversity” are the best breeding ground for disruptive Open RAN. Symphony’s CMO Geoff Hollingworth said in a recent interview that Open RAN could help poorer countries bypass legacy architectures and seize technical leadership. He said the company, which will commercialize Rakuten Mobile’s RAN platform, is “heavily invested and interested” in the Middle East and…