New-Tech Europe Magazine | Q1 2023

adaptable reference architectures, low power wired and wireless solutions, enhanced data processing and cloud solutions, which can be deployed on any network. Combining robust pol icy and a renewed focus on introducing new, flexible solutions to the ecosystem can reduce challenges around vendor lock-in, and enable service providers to create best-of-breed infrastructure that increases network coverage and speed, while reducing cost and power consumption. This will be key as governments and vendors across Europe look to accelerate 5G deployment and increase coverage levels in the coming years, to provide as many users as possible with the benefits of next-generation connectivity.

continue at both a domestic and continental level to ensure mobile ecosystems are “5G-ready” and to create a more open market for innovation. An open innovation ecosystem At present, the European mobile operator landscape suffers from fragmentation. Services across 44 European countries are delivered by hundreds of operators – some with international presence and others offer ing very local ized coverage. This can have a positive impact – increasing competition and accelerating innovation – but to do so there must be a culture of collaboration or ‘co-opetition’ that prioritizes the quality of service at an industry level. In most cases, smaller, more local operators have less capital to invest in the R&D, trials, and labs that drive 5G innovation. Meanwhile larger operators are investing heavily in all of these. To achieve the aims set out in the Digital Decade plan and empower the mobile industry to accelerate 5G deployment across Europe, collaboration between large and small operators is vital. Strategic partnerships between telcos where smaller operators can access more of the R&D facilities that exist in their region will stimulate innovation. Shared resources and goals between industry players have the potential to reduce cost of deployment, cost per user, and find new ways to overcome technical challenges that delay deployment. Policy makers may have a role to play here in supporting shared R&D centres that any vendor can access to create or test new solutions and services. At the heart of this opportunity is Open-RAN – an open radio access

network architecture with the aim of improving network flexibility, improving competition, and enabling innovation. The O-RAN Alliance brings together operators and telecommunicat ions equipment manufacturers to create a multi vendor, interoperable ecosystem to deliver open interface specifications. Each member focuses on a specific system or interface al igned to their expertise. Every vendor takes responsibility for the delivery of the complete solution – whether it’s the 5G Core network, baseband units, or silicon chips. This is the essence of the O-RAN Alliance and Open-RAN. Concepts such as this and a culture of co-innovation among vendors increases the market opportunity for players focusing on more specific areas of telecommunications infrastructure. This can lead to rapid deployment of new solutions such as

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