About Open RAN Summit
The Open RAN (ORAN) industry has had an exciting 12 months, with many communication service providers (CSPs) making big announcements relating to largescale commercial ORAN deployments. With the ORAN hype peaking again, Fierce Network is pleased to welcome back our annual Open RAN Summit where we will be exploring some of the key themes currently taking place in the industry.
AGENDA
Monday, September 9
11:00 AM EST
Open RAN State of the Industry – Is Multi-Vendor Open RAN Still
the Goal?
The end of 2023 saw new life breathed back into the ORAN discussion, with many major CSPs announcing their partnerships to deploy their first commercial ORAN networks. However, one underlying similarity with recent announcements is that they are from a single vendor. Single-vendor ORAN has its advantages, such as simplified deployment, integration and accountability should problems arise. However, if the original purpose of ORAN was to drive market diversification and competitiveness, then do single-vendor ORAN deployments not defeat the object? Join this session as Fierce Network puts to speakers whether multi-vendor ORAN is still the goal and learn what has been achieved with deployments to date, and what remains a challenge.
11:00 AM - 11:15 AM Keynote | Speaker: Francisco Martín Pignatelli, Head of OpenRAN, Vodafone
11:15 AM - 11:30 AM Partner Keynote | Speakers: Vikram Prasad, Head of Program & Client Solutions, Amdocs, Neil Coleman, Product Line Management Lead, Amdocs
11:30 AM - 12:15 PM Panel Discussion | Moderator: Roy Chua, Principal & Founder, AvidThink / Panelists: Eugina Jordan, CMO, Telecom Infra Project, Mike Irizarry, Executive Vice President & Chief Technology Officer, USCellular, Afnan Ahmed, Director, Network Strategy, Telenor, Fariba Heidari, Senior Director, Product Management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
AGENDA
Monday, September 9
12:15 PM EST
Creating New Telco Opportunities in the Cloud with Open RAN
After being overshadowed in the cloud by hyperscale platforms, telcos are finding a new competitive edge with open RAN technology. This report examines how open RAN offers telcos a path to reclaim competitive relevance by enabling more flexible, interoperable network architectures. By facilitating a mix of vendor solutions, open RAN reduces operational costs and enhances service capabilities, allowing telcos to provide bespoke connectivity. These strategic advantages not only help telcos compete with established cloud providers but also support their evolution towards cloud-native functionalities with dynamic network slicing. Highlighting industry shifts towards open, efficient network infrastructures, this report underscores open RAN's potential to reshape telco strategies and level the playing field in the cloud services market.
12:15 PM - 1:00 PM Panel | Moderator: Mitch Wagner, Chief Analyst, Fierce Network Research / Panelists: Neil Coleman, Product Line Management Lead, Amdocs, Rimma Iontel, Chief Architect - Global Telco, Red Hat, Inc.
AGENDA
Monday, September 9
1:00 PM EST
Performance, Efficiency & Interoperability – Helping Open RAN Find its Feet
ORAN has well-established advantages, including cost savings, enhanced scalability and driving RAN innovation, and with many CSPs now deploying largescale ORAN networks its likely that many industry players are starting to see the benefits. However, for ORAN’s potential to be fully realized, it is essential that CSPs navigate an often complex task of multi-vendor interoperability. The x and r apps of the non-real-time and near-real-time RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) offers one avenue by using AIbased recommendations to enhance interoperability and drive optimization. But how else can CSPs ensure their ORAN networks are deployed smoothly? Join this session as we explore what recent deployments have taught us with regards to navigating a multi-vendor ecosystem and learn how various software and technological advancements can assist CSPs in ensuring they get their ORAN deployments right.
1:00 PM - 1:15 PM Fireside Chat| Moderator: Prakash Sangam, Founder and Principal, Tantra Analyst / Speaker: Sushil Rawat, Director, RAN DevOps, Technology Strategy, TELUS Corporation
1:15 PM - 1:30 PM Fireside Chat| Moderator: Evelyn Remaley, Partner at WBK and former Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Speaker: Sarah Morris, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Administrator (Acting), National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
1:30 PM - 2:15 PM Panel | Moderator: Monica Paolini, Founder and Principal, Senza Fili / Panelist: Richard Mackenzie, Distinguished Engineer, Wireless Networks, BT Group, Simon Fletcher, Chief Strategy Officer, Small Cell Forum, Adam Loddeke, AVP- RAN Technology, AT&T
AGENDA
Tuesday, September 10
11:00 AM EST
AI-RAN: The Next Innovation in Radio Access Network Technology
It’s hard to not have noticed the AI hype currently grasping the industry. AI is revolutionizing operations across many telco operations, and the same is expected for the RAN. AI RAN refers to the integration of AI in the RAN with the goal to enhance efficiency, reduce power consumption and generate new economic prospects as the industry furthers its 5G evolution and eventual 6G deployments. Through network optimization, predictive maintenance and resource allocation, AI RAN is set to revolutionize RAN deployments and perhaps be the solution to many of the existing ORAN interoperability challenges. This trend even saw the launch of the new AI-RAN Alliance during MWC 2024, a collective of CSPs and AI vendors committed to driving AI innovation in the RAN. Join this session as Fierce Network discusses what AI RAN is, and what it means for ORAN movement and 5G and 6G evolution.
11:00 AM - 11:15 AM Keynote | Speaker: Sebastián Guic, RAN Expert, Telecom Argentina
11:15 AM - 12:00 PM Panel Discussion | Moderator: Stefan Pongratz, Vice President, Dell’Oro Group, Ravi P. Sinha, Co-Chairman, nGRG, O-RAN ALLIANCE, Lucia de Miguel, OPEN RAN Digital, Software & System Development Manager, Vodafone Group, Javed Khan, Senior Director- 5G Product Management, Rakuten Symphony, Cristina Rodriguez, Vice President, Network & Edge Group, General Manager, Wireless Access Network Division, Intel
Agenda
Tuesday, September 10
1:00 PM EST
Exploring the Opportunities, Benefits & Challenges of Cloud RAN (cRAN) Deployments
Cloudification of the RAN refers to a form of ORAN where certain RAN functions are carried out in the cloud. For CSPs this offers various benefits, including easily scalable and flexible RAN deployments, in addition to generating costs savings through automation and enhanced energy efficiency. Join this session where speakers will delve into the benefits of migrating RAN functions to the cloud and discover how to mitigate common challenges relating to security and compliance.
1:00 PM - 1:15 PM Keynote | Speaker: Amir Rao, Director of Outbound Product Management for EC2 Edge Services, AWS
1:15 PM - 1:30 PM Partner Keynote | Speaker: Ignacio Gonzalez, Business Development Director EMEA Telco, Red Hat, Inc.
1:30 PM - 2:15 PM Panel | Moderator: Sylwia Kechiche, Senior Director, Industry Analysis, OpenSignal / Panelist: Petr Lédl, VP of Network Trials and Integration Lab, and Chief Architect of Access Disaggregation Program, Deutsche Telekom, Gregory Agami, Director Network Solutions, UScellular, Rimma Iontel, Chief Architect - Global Telco Telecommunications, Entertainment and Media Technology, Strategy and Execution Office, Red Hat, Inc.
Interested in speaking or partnering?
Contact us today and our team will follow up with you shortly!