A version of Open RAN is becoming popular in private networks. It is more flexible and claims to have sustainability benefits compared with traditional RAN, but is nothing like the large-scale Open RAN that global governments want to see. This geopolitical Open RAN will be a harder nut to crack, and for now it will continue to be dominated by large vendors. In his inaugural speech to the telecoms industry this month, at the Connected Britain event, the UK’s Minister of State for Data Protection and Telecoms, Chris Bryant, emphasized the government’s desire to increase the number of vendors in the supply chain. He referred to the government’s £250 million ‘Open Networks’ R&D Fund, and to a recent report from the Telecoms…