O-RAN Market - Forecasts from 2023 to 2028

The global O-RAN market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 36.94% to reach US$8.883 billion by 2028, from US$1.347 billion in 2022.

GROWTH DRIVERS

Lower Cost

O-RAN enables operators to use solutions from several manufacturers, promoting competition among network equipment vendors and cutting total deployment costs. Ericsson, a major player in the 5G market, has stated that using open RAN technology can cut network operators' operational costs by 40% and their total cost of ownership by 36%.

Growing 5G Deployment

The 5G deployments are enhanced through RANs as it links user equipment, such as mobile phones or laptops, to the main network, providing subscriber information and location. Hence, to complement the 5G deployment, various trials, demonstrations, partnerships, and investments are being conducted. For instance,

• In October 2021, the O-RAN architecture-compliant RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) software platform from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and Deutsche Telekom (DT) announced the launch of the SD-RAN Berlin Trial. It was the first field trial that employed fully disaggregated open RAN solutions.
• In February 2022, Juniper Networks announced a partnership with Vodafone and Parallel Wireless to conduct a multi-vendor Radio Access Network Intelligent Controller (RIC) trial for tenant-aware admission control use cases. The test was conducted at the Vodafone test facilities in Turkey. Additionally, it supported O-RAN interfaces and managed the primary operational issues that mobile operators encountered, such as individualized user experiences, viable revenue generation, and reduced Capex and Opex for 4G and 5G services.

EMERGING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE GLOBAL O-RAN MARKET

MASSIVE MIMO

By technology, O-RAN is divided into Massive MIMO and Non-Massive MIMO. Massive MIMO is expected to have a high CAGR during the projected period, owing to growing investments and partnerships.

• In February 2021, Qualcomm partnered with Rakuten to develop a next-generation 5G Radio Unit (RU) with Massive MIMO capabilities and distributed units (DUs). Rakuten selected Qualcomm for the worldwide deployment of O-RAN. Qualcomm® X100 5G RAN Accelerator Card and high-performance Massive MIMO Qualcomm® QRU100 5G RAN Platform will be used for deployment.
• InDecember 2021, NEC announced the successful demonstration of its leading Open RAN massive MIMO capabilities for the O-RAN ALLIANCE Global PlugFest 2021 at five venues hosted by leading operators and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP).

DU

By architecture, O-RAN is divided into CU, DU, and RU. DU is expected to hold a major share during the projected period, owing to its important positioning in baseband deployment. The industry has concluded that the lower-level interface connecting RU and DU (fronthaul) should be eCPRI to achieve the lowest latency. The fronthaul latency is limited to 100 microseconds. A single DU may serve RUs located several kilometers away. Airspan offers OpenRANGE SW which provides the software solutions (vCU, vDU & RIC) that allow for modular, scalable architecture, providing deployment flexibility and cost savings. It supports splits 2, 6, and 7.2, as defined by 3GPP, O-RAN, TIP, and Small Cell Forum.

GEOGRAPHICAL PRESENCE

The global O-RAN market consists of some major countries undertaking measures to secure their 5G network. Some major countries include the USA, Japan, South Korea, China, and Germany. The following are the key developments:

• In September 2021, NEC and Fujitsu stepped up their open radio network access (RAN) play by announcing a collaboration on interoperability testing for 5G base stations that conform to specifications from the O-RAN Alliance. The initiative also falls under the remit of Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
• In July 2022, Nokia formed a strategic alliance with Hill Air Force Base(US) and the National Spectrum Consortium. Hill Air Force Base uses Nokia’s O-RAN solutions for the testbed, and Phase 1 of the project has been completed.
• In February 2023, Deutsche Telekom, a German carrier, announced its partnership with Nokia, Fujitsu, and Mavenir for the initial phase deployment of its commercial Open RAN (O-RAN) in Germany.

MAJOR PLAYERS IN THE MARKET

Some of the leading players in the market include Fujitsu, NEC, Nokia, Samsung Qualcomm Technologies, and Ericsson. These firms have undertaken various business strategies such as product launches, investments, and partnerships to expand their product offerings. For instance,

• In December 2020, Fujitsu formed a partnership with KDDI. KDDI Corporation selected Fujitsu's O-RAN compatible 5G Radio Unit to construct a virtualized base station for 5G commercial services in Japan.
• In February 2022, NEC expanded its open RAN Radio Units (O-RUs) portfolio by introducing several new products and configurations. The 18 new Radio Units helped NEC maintain its leadership position in the O-RU segment as ORAN deployments gained global momentum.
• In February 2022, Qualcomm launched a fully-Integrated Open RAN Solution in collaboration with Fujitsu for 5G mmWave Proliferation. The launch was initiated to address the demands of modern networks, streamline deployments and lower the total cost of ownership by delivering high performance.

MARKET SEGMENTATION

The global O-RAN market has been analyzed through the following segments:

By Technology

• Massive MIMO
• Non-Massive MIMO

By Spectrum Band

• Sub-6 GHz
• mmWave

By Architecture

• CU
• DU
• RU
• Others

By Geography

• Americas
• United States
• Others
• Europe, the Middle East, and Africa
• Germany
• UK
• Others
• Asia Pacific
• China
• Japan
• South Korea
• Others