Open RAN in 2024: why deployments are lagging behind expectations

Each year, the GSMA Intelligence Network Transformation Survey asks operators about their top network transformation priorities. In 2023, the survey revealed that, despite slow deployment over the years, open RAN remained a top network priority. In 2024, the strategic importance of open RAN has fallen, but the technology still ranks as a higher priority than hot topics such as edge networking and private wireless networks.

Putting aside the interest in open RAN that operators continue to show, it is clear that deployments are lagging behind initial lofty expectations, potentially held back by concerns with the technology. These concerns represent obstacles that open RAN proponents will need to address. They also represent legitimate issues for consideration among those looking to deploy the technology.