| What if we told you there's a silver bullet that could make mobile networks safer, more efficient, and more competitive? While far from a perfect solution, many telecom companies, experts, and government officials have been throwing their weight behind the concept of open radio access networks (ORAN), which hold the promise of addressing a host of issues that currently plague the industry. With companies from AT&T to Dish Wireless embracing the technology, it's worth understanding what it entails and where it's headed. What is ORAN? Let's start with the RAN part of the equation. The radio access network connects consumer devices using mobile connections to the broader telecom ecosystem. Without this link, individual phones, laptops, and other similar devices would operate like islands unto themselves—not very practical. Telecom networks have traditionally been closed systems supported by a single vendor, many of which are based overseas: Finland's Nokia, Sweden's Ericsson, and South Korea's Samsung, to name a few heavy hitters. While that's not necessarily a dealbreaker, this black-box architecture can make it challenging to audit what's actually in the network stack. Many experts also believe that some vendors, such as China-based Huawei and ZTE, present national security concerns to the US. ORAN seeks to change the vertically integrated network model by ensuring that all components of the telecom infrastructure chain operate according to a common set of standards, making different vendors' hardware essentially interchangeable. It also leans heavily on software, as opposed to hardware, which makes components easier to update remotely and doesn't require physical reinstallation. Keep reading here.—KG | 
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