Nokia said it resumed its technical contribution to the O-RAN Alliance, after the group offered assurances its work complied with U.S. legislation.
In a blog, Nokia’s Mobile Networks president Tommi Uitto explained Nokia’s commitment to Open RAN and that the alliance remained as strong as when it first backed the initiatives.
“For a short time, we had to pause our technical activity with the alliance while important legal issues were ironed out. While much has been written in recent days about that decision, I want to reiterate something that has not – and will not – change: Nokia is fully committed to O-RAN and a believer in the potential of O-RAN,” the executive said.
“It is for that reason that we welcome the encouraging news that the O-RAN Alliance has announced changes to its O-RAN participation documents and procedures, ensuring technical activities can continue in compliance with U.S. law. This important announcement enables us to get back to the exciting work we had to pause,” the executive added.
Uitto added that Nokia’s technical contribution to the alliance restarts right now. “We believe that Open RAN technology has the potential to enrich the mobile ecosystem with new solutions and business models, and an expanded multi-vendor ecosystem. This is what customers and consumers want – and it is something we are committed to seeing through.”
The executive highlighted that the vendor remains the strongest contributor to the alliance’s technical work, adding that Nokia’s technical contributions are visible across most of the alliance’s ten working groups and four focus groups.
“O-RAN specifications are still evolving and there are technical challenges to overcome and of course the ecosystem will take time to mature. The speed with which the O-RAN Alliance has been able to resolve recent issues speaks to the spirit of community and co-operation on which it was founded. Rest assured that Nokia will continue to play a leading role in shaping its exciting future,” the executive added.
In a separate statement, the O-RAN Alliance said it became aware of concerns regarding some participants that may be subject to U.S. export regulations, and has been working with O-RAN participants to address these concerns.
“The O-RAN Board has approved changes to O-RAN participation documents and procedures. While it is up to each O-RAN participant to make their own evaluation of these changes, O-RAN is optimistic that the changes will address the concerns and facilitate O-RAN’s mission.
“O-RAN is an open and collaborative global alliance operating in a way that promotes transparency and participation of our member companies in the development and adoption of global open specifications and standards,” said Andre Fuetsch, Chairman of the O-RAN Alliance.
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