Telecom and tech companies are getting together to lobby the government for policies that promote a diverse, secure and interoperable 5G supply chain.
That comes as protecting next-gen wireless from this gen's suspect tech suppliers is a focus of the Trump Administration, Congress and the FCC.
Related: FCC Postpones Virtual RAN Forum
A group of those companies--founding members include are AT&T, Verizon, Dish, Google, Cisco, NEC, and IBM--have formed the the Open RAN Policy Coalition to advocate for government policies that promote interoperable "solutions" and innovation and diversity in the 5G supply chain for the Radio Access Networks (RANs), the tech that connects the core network with the customer.
Their goal is not to be reliant on a single vendor--like Chinese telecoms Huawei or ZTE, who are now "suppliers non grata" being ushered out of U.S. networks.
Among the group's founding principles:
1. "Support global development of open and interoperable wireless technologies;
2. "Signal government support for open and interoperable solutions;
3. "Use government procurement to support vendor diversity;
4. "Fund research and development;
5. "Remove barriers to 5G deployment; and
6. "Avoid heavy-handed or prescriptive solutions."
