政治マディオープンRANビジョン

今週開かれたOpen RAN Policy Coalitionが後援するイベントの期間中、今週議会の主要メンバーから開かれた邪魔されない無線アクセスネットワーク（RAN）への長く曲がりくねった道がいくらかの声援を得ました。ただし、準備された発言は、オープンなRANの議論を巡って日常的に浮上し、時にはオープンな、分散型のソフトウェア駆動型ネットワークの技術的利点を曖昧にする世界的な政治の憂鬱を強調しました。The long and winding road to open, unencumbered radio access networks (RAN) gained some vocal support from key members of Congress this week during an event sponsored by the recently formed Open RAN Policy Coalition. The prepared remarks also, however, underlined the morass of global politics that routinely bubble up around open RAN discussions and sometimes muddy the technological benefits of open, disaggregated, software-driven networks.  U.S. Rep. Greg Walden of Oregon, the top Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, quickly shifted from calling for a “robust market of trusted vendors for network infrastructure” to criticizing the practices of Chinese RAN vendors. Some generalizations frequently buoyed by him and others effectively blame Huawei and ZTE for unrelated issues beyond their control. “By offering nearly free equipment, Huawei and ZTE have made it difficult for trusted vendors to compete in the marketplace. As a result, upgrading equipment and software has become an unnecessarily expensive and timely process,” he said. More nuanced and mostly unpolitical matters, like acknowledging the restrictive and proprietary legacy of the wireless equipment market that predates Huawei’s rise, are routinely overlooked by political leaders pushing open RAN as an alternative to low-cost Chinese infrastructure. “Trusted” incumbent vendors are at a “serious disadvantage” because companies like Huawei and ZTE are undercutting the market, Walden said. “The limited marketplace of trusted vendors competing for the same contracts while trying to fight off untrusted vendors has also resulted in significant losses to research, to development, and innovation,” he noted. By conflating uneven competition in the market with lagging innovation from incumbent vendors, open RAN becomes a political crutch for some to lean on while others would prefer to see open RAN judged by its technical merits. Walden contends that bolstering open RAN and the standards it adheres to will reduce these issues, decrease costs for network operators, and ease market pressures faced by other vendors. “In an open system, trusted vendors would be able to compete for contracts across an array of infrastructure items on a provider’s network. The potential to mix and match the hardware and software of different vendors will reduce costs for network operators and present greater opportunity to equipment vendors,” he said. Earlier this year, Walden co-sponsored the USA Telecommunications Act of 2020 that calls for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to establish a $750 million grant program to support the deployment and use of open RAN 5G networks in the U.S. “By investing in open and standards-based trusted equipment the U.S will be in a strong position to ensure that our networks are both secure and easily upgradeable,” he said. U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui, the California Democratic who serves as vice chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology and also co-sponsored the bill, said she and Walden still have a lot of work to educate fellow House members on the benefits and value of open RAN. However, she said, “one doesn’t need to be a telecommunications expert to understand that moving away from closed proprietary solutions will create an opportunity for a new supply chain ecosystem to flourish. We need to win the innovation future — that means 5G and beyond.” Matsui posited open RAN as an important part of the evolution to 5G networks, including technologies that will maximize the benefits of 5G. But, like Walden, she’s just as interested in blunting the advance of Chinese vendors by fostering more competition in a less restrictive and more software-driven system.  “One of the principle benefits of open RAN will be an increase in supply chain diversity, which has significant economic, network performance, and national security implications,” Matsui said.  “Modular, open interface technology will also allow network operators to use software to take the place of physical technology like switches or routers in a process called network virtualization. With virtualized networks, mobile operators can explore new strategies to enhance network performance,” she explained. “Beyond network performance and economic benefits, a more robust supply chain will also produce gains for national security. Huawei is rapidly emerging as a leading producer of 5G network equipment. Strong state support has allowed it to undercut competitors and integrate its equipment throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and emerging markets. The prevalence of this equipment is a significant risk for data security and critical infrastructure,” Matsui said.  “Open RAN technology provides a path to counter state-based actors by shifting the global marketplace toward open standards and interoperability. This will limit the effectiveness of direct state support and open doors for new trusted manufacturers to compete.”