Team Korea
The Korean Ministry of Science and ICT will enter the global market for open radio access network (ORAN) services in earnest with the public-private partnership front and center.
On Aug. 16, the ministry announced the direction of its ORAN policies and will hold a proclamation ceremony for the ORAN Industry Alliance (ORIA), a public-private council launched in April, at the Second Techno Valley Enterprise Support Hub in Pangyo.
An ORAN is an open wireless access network that separates base station software and hardware equipment based on 5G telecommunication. Previously, network operations required the deployment of equipment from the same manufacturer, but ORANs can accept equipment from different manufacturers by simply updating their software. According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the ORAN market is expected to grow more than fivefold from US$1.2 billion in 2021 to US$6.4 billion in 2026.
The ORIA is chaired by SK telecom and has 29 member companies and organizations including telecom companies such as KT and LG U+, manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Nokia, and small software developers. The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to create a corporate cooperation ecosystem centered on the ORIA to support early commercialization of ORANs and their entry into the global market.
First of all, the ministry will provide equipment from global manufacturers to an ORAN testbed in Pangyo to expand test and demonstration opportunities for domestic companies, and establish an ORAN equipment international certification system. In addition, international events to verify interconnections between Korean and foreign companies’ open source equipment will be held twice a year, and joint research with major countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom will be actively promoted.
In this process, the ORIA will contribute to securing the technological competitiveness of Korean companies by participating in the government’s road map for ORAN research and development (R&D) and actively participate in international standardization processes for ORAN to become the leader in making a foray into the global market.