Open RAN spent last year as a plucky but weak challenger with excellent PR and a receptive audience. If it were a sportsperson, it would probably be Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, a chirpy ski jumper who represented Great Britain in the 1988 Olympics but finished dead last by some margin, less eagle than flightless duck. Edwards captured the public imagination that year like no other skier. His story was eventually turned into a Hollywood movie. The authorities were not impressed, though. After the Calgary Olympics, they tightened up entry requirements to prevent any repeat mockery in future. Open RAN is under similar scrutiny this year. Rule makers in the UK are taking a hard look at the ambitious mobile technology, and they are worried about its waddling technique and generally questionable form. If it wants to be a serious competitor, it will have to shape up.