US denies Open RAN tech meant to dislodge Huawei
ATOP American diplomat denied that the new mobile communication infrastructure that they are endorsing is not aimed to dislodge Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei from the Philippine cellular network.
US State Undersecretary Richard Verma said they are pitching for the Philippines to adopt the Open Radio Access Network (R AN) Technology so that more Filipinos can have “open, interoperable, secure, reliable, and trusted” internet access in the future.
The Philippine telecommunications companies are presently using the traditional RAN Technology, where telcos are only tied to one supplier for their many components from hardware to software. For 4G cellular signal, Huawei is one of the top suppliers for Globe and Smart.
“I don’t think it’s about any particular company. I think it’s about building more trust and competition and multiple networks that could actually bring down the cost and provide more resilience and trust and interconnectivity.
“So instead of one network controlling every facet of the operation, the idea would be to bring in multiple smaller providers that could interlink and interconnect with the network so that you don’t have to rely on one giant conglomerate to provide all of the services,” Verma said.
The US and Japan have allotted at least US$17 million for Open RAN field trials in the Philippines and the Asia Open RAN Academy based in Manila.
John Avila, the economic and growth specialist at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said the academy will train the next generation of Filipino network engineers on Open RAN technology.
“Network engineers are used to single networks. So now, they are trained to understand interoperable networks, where you have different parts and different systems working together,” Avila said.
He said Open RAN aligns with the vision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Digital Transformation and network modernization as the government transitions to 5G. It will also provide an opportunity for the Philippines to support the domestic industry to develop parts or components of the Open RAN.
Verma met with National Security Adviser Eduardo Año and House Speaker Martin Romualdez during his visit in Manila Friday.
Verma said the US support for the Philippines to transition to Open RAN technology is part of the effort to further improve bilateral cooperation, which he noted has been doing “remarkably well” for the past 75 years from people-to-people, to trade and geopolitical interests.
“We start at this incredibly strong foundation. It allows us to build and deliver on programs in new areas of cooperation like this [Open RAN] which may seem small, but they build on this,” he explained.
US Ambassador to Manila Marykay Carlson denied that the Open RAN will be specifically used for military camps in the Philippines where the US soldiers will have access to.