AT&T's network is advancing on several fronts at once

AT&T hasn't given up on its Open RAN initiatives, quite the contrary: Ma Bell is steadily progressing in that direction.

Rob Soni (VP – RAN Technology, AT&T) says in a new blog post that more than half of AT&T's network traffic is already being carried on open-capable hardware (which is designed to support open architectures in the future)

RAN advancements

If you keep a close eye on the topic, you've surely heard of Open RAN (Open Radio Access Network) already. That's the industry approach that breaks apart the traditional and tightly integrated equipment stack used in cellular networks. Companies like Ericsson, Nokia and Huawei sell end-to-end RAN systems where radios, basebands and software are optimized to work together but are largely proprietary.

Doesn't sound too flexible, right? That's where Open RAN comes in – radio equipment can come from vendor X, baseband processing can be made by vendor Y, while software apps – by vendor Z.

This isn't all about flexibility, though: there can be made arguments about competition, innovation and cost effectiveness. That last part is critical.

That's why AT&T has completed more than 50% of their radio replacement ("swap") program. This is physically replacing legacy cell site radios with newer hardware that supports open interfaces and cloud-native architectures.



Another key factor is Cloud RAN. This shifts network processing away from hardware at each cell tower and into centralized data centers that run software instead. Thus, networks are made more flexible and easier to update. It also helps AT&T automate operations and use AI to improve performance more quickly.

AT&T is already live with Cloud RAN in two cities and the company is "on track to complete system integrations and start scaling by the end of first quarter".

More than hardware

Beyond hardware, AT&T is building the software layer needed to run a more programmable network. It is rolling out Ericsson's Intelligent Automation Platform, which includes cloud orchestration tools and the RAN Intelligent Controller, a system that allows the network to be managed and optimized through software instead of fixed settings.

So, AT&T is upgrading equipment, adding cloud-based processing, and layering in automation and AI at the same time. Which should mean that subscribers could see real-world improvements in speed, reliability and efficiency.