The ‘open source RAN’ remains the stuff of dreams, even according to some of the challenger vendors that are making progress in opening up the cellular ecosystem. Some of this relates to the difficulty of applying classical open source models, as epitomized by the frameworks of the Apache Foundation, to chips and other hardware (see separate item). But even when it comes to the software element of the virtualized RAN (vRAN), there is very little work being done on RAN network functions that could be downloaded for free to any baseband or radio unit. For those that believe a true open source model is the best way to throw open the doors to the RAN market, a depressing sight is…