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Google LLC today announced that it’s joining the O-RAN Alliance, a consortium of carriers and tech firms working to make the world’s telecommunications infrastructure more efficient.
A telecommunications network has multiple elements. One of them is the so-called RAN, or radio access network, an industry term that refers to the cell towers through which a carrier provides internet coverage to subscribers. The O-RAN Alliance is looking to enhance carriers’ cell towers using technologies such as artificial intelligence.
A cell tower comprises numerous individual subcomponents: antennas, servers that process the signals passing through the antennas, software responsible for managing the workflow and countless auxiliary systems. Historically, carriers would buy most of these components from a single supplier. Combining software from one supplier with antennas or servers made by another firm often often wasn’t possible, which limited carriers’ options.