Fireside Chat: Open RAN and the future of mobile infrastructure investment: Rethinking roles, risks, and rewards

Open RAN is poised to reshape not only the vendor landscape but also the broader investment model for mobile networks. This fireside chat discussion will explore how Open RAN could democratise the network stack, shift financial responsibilities across the ecosystem, and catalyse new partnerships between MNOs, towercos, vendors, and neutral hosts. 

• To what extent will Open RAN will gain widespread traction globally or remain a niche strategy shaped by specific market dynamics, regulatory environments, and operator priorities. 

• How does the Open RAN movement open the door to new players (such as towercos) taking on capital investments traditionally made by MNOs (e.g. RRU and fronthaul) and reduce capex duplication 

• What is the appetite of MNOs and towercos for this change and what could the financial model look like? 

• Who is best placed to play an orchestration role, bringing together the various network components