Open Radio Access Network challenges for Next Generation Mobile Network

Due to the tightly-coupled hardware and software architecture of existing RAN systems and their non-flexibility, disaggregation of software and hardware can bring many unprecedented opportunities regarding enabling the entrance of multiple small-scale infrastructure providers to enter the RAN market, which creates more competitive and innovative RAN ecosystem. Moreover, mobile network operators (MNOs) will also have the advantage of selecting the services according to their network requirements. Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) builds a multi-vendor RAN ecosystem and utilizes openness and intelligence to address the complexity of network functionalities, increase development agility, and provide more cost-effective platforms due to softwarization and the avoidance of dedicated hardware. However, O-RAN faces many challenges, such as interoperability, convergence, and AI/ML management which still need to be addressed before its wide deployment. This paper surveys the existing issues in the Open RAN ecosystem and explores existing solutions.