Patrick Lopez

Open RAN, in 2024 is more than ever a trending topic in telecommunications.
I have worked on Open RAN before it was called open RAN, when Telefonica deployed open and disaggregated networks in Latin America and wrote the first open RAN RFI with Vodafone at the TIP summit. Later on, at NEC, we deployed it at NTT DOCOMO, Rakuten Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, 1&1 Vodafone and Telefonica. I also assisted more than 90 customers with their technology strategy at {Core Analysis}.

Between the… Show more

Open RAN, in 2024 is more than ever a trending topic in telecommunications.
I have worked on Open RAN before it was called open RAN, when Telefonica deployed open and disaggregated networks in Latin America and wrote the first open RAN RFI with Vodafone at the TIP summit. Later on, at NEC, we deployed it at NTT DOCOMO, Rakuten Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, 1&1 Vodafone and Telefonica. I also assisted more than 90 customers with their technology strategy at {Core Analysis}.

Between the latest commitments from AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, STC, Vodafone and others, the announcements from Ericsson, Mavenir, Nokia, Samsung, the recent acquisitions of VMWare and Juniper Networks, the new proposed enhancements to the fronthaul interface, the debates around accelerators architecture, and the emergence of AI/ML and LLM, this market has never been so confusing.

This report provides an exhaustive review of the key technology trends, vendors product offering, and strategies, ranging from silicon, servers, cloud CaaS, Open RUs, DU, CUs, RICs, apps and SMOs in the open RAN space in 2024.

Report description:
Published March 2024
112 pages, 83 diagrams, illustrations photos
Technology reviewed: O-RAN alliance architecture, ORAN requirements, O-RUs, O-CU, O-DU, O-Cloud, servers, accelerators, fronthaul interfaces, Non Real Time RIC, Near Real Time RIC, rApps, xApps,
Companies mentioned or reviewed: Accelleran, Aira Technologies, Airspan Networks, AT&T, Baicells, Benetel, Broadcom, Capgemini, Cohere Technologies, DISH, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IS-Wireless, Fujitsu Network Communications, Juniper Networks, Mavenir, Microelectronics Technology Inc., Nokia, Northeastern University, NTT DOCOMO, NVIDIA, Parallel Wireless, Rakuten Symphony, Rimedo Labs, Samsung Networks, Telecom Infra Project, Telefonica, Verizon, VIAVI Solutions, Vodafone, VMware, Windrvr, and more... Show less

From my experience, as an operator at Telefonica or as advisor and consultant at Bell Canada or Deutsche Telekom or from my time at NEC as global VP Product Management overlooking the development and partnerships surrounding open RAN products, or as an independent analyst researching the market, I have derived a unique perspective on the maturity and effectiveness of open RAN, RICs and Apps. This report examines the architecture, strength, drawbacks of open RAN RICs and apps as well as provides… Show more

From my experience, as an operator at Telefonica or as advisor and consultant at Bell Canada or Deutsche Telekom or from my time at NEC as global VP Product Management overlooking the development and partnerships surrounding open RAN products, or as an independent analyst researching the market, I have derived a unique perspective on the maturity and effectiveness of open RAN, RICs and Apps. This report examines the architecture, strength, drawbacks of open RAN RICs and apps as well as provides an inventory of the main players in the space. Show less

As mobile becomes the preferred medium to consume digital content and services, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), whose revenue was traditionally derived from selling “transport,” see their share squeezed as subscribers increasingly value content and have more and more options in accessing it. The double effect of the MNOs’ decreasing margins and increasing costs forces them to rethink their network architecture.
In this Core Analysis white paper, authored for Accedian, Patrick Lopez explores… Show more

As mobile becomes the preferred medium to consume digital content and services, Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), whose revenue was traditionally derived from selling “transport,” see their share squeezed as subscribers increasingly value content and have more and more options in accessing it. The double effect of the MNOs’ decreasing margins and increasing costs forces them to rethink their network architecture.
In this Core Analysis white paper, authored for Accedian, Patrick Lopez explores the dynamics of this trend, as QoE rapidly becomes the major battlefield upon which network operators and content providers will differentiate and win consumers’ trust. Quality of Experience requires a richly instrumented network, with feedback telemetry woven through its fabric to anticipate, detect, measure any potential failure. Show less

New market and technology trends analysed in 2015:
OTT and MNO strategies for monetization, Net neutrality, privacy, mobile video advertising, recommendation, sponsored data, video analytics, strategies to deal with encrypted traffic , NFV, TCP, web and video optimization, LTE broadcast, H.265, VP9, SPDY, HTTP/2..


This report is a complete 360 degree review of the mobile video ecosystem, the technologies involved, the segment's size and growth rate, the vendors, their channels… Show more

New market and technology trends analysed in 2015:
OTT and MNO strategies for monetization, Net neutrality, privacy, mobile video advertising, recommendation, sponsored data, video analytics, strategies to deal with encrypted traffic , NFV, TCP, web and video optimization, LTE broadcast, H.265, VP9, SPDY, HTTP/2..


This report is a complete 360 degree review of the mobile video ecosystem, the technologies involved, the segment's size and growth rate, the vendors, their channels and suppliers, their differentiators and strategies... all you need, to understand this market and its trajectory. Show less

If you had to build a mobile network optimized for the delivery of video, what would it look like? And what about if you had to start from today's mobile networks?
Patrick Lopez outlines the ideal mobile video distribution network.

LTE Broadcast (sometimes referred to as LTE Multicast) could have a bright future in delivering video and other files and data more efficiently, but it will likely be a few years before it becomes a viable, large-scale option for even its most ardent carrier proponents, such as Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ), which plans to launch the technology in 2015.

This report maps the state of SDN / NFV deployments in wireless networks in 2014, through primary research and interview of all participants in ETSI NFV Proof of Concept (PoC).

For its third edition, this report benefits from a unique perspective on video monetization and optimization as {Core Analysis} has analysed over 200 market deployments and compared all the vendors' claims against their field performance.

For its second edition, this report benefits from a unique perspective on video optimization as {Core Analysis} has analysed over 150 market deployments and compared all the vendors' claims against their field performance. This report is a must read if you:

develop and sell video optimization technology
are interested to acquire or partner with a company in this field
want to understand market dynamics of mobile video
are launching a technology or vendor evaluation for trial or… Show more

For its second edition, this report benefits from a unique perspective on video optimization as {Core Analysis} has analysed over 150 market deployments and compared all the vendors' claims against their field performance. This report is a must read if you:

develop and sell video optimization technology
are interested to acquire or partner with a company in this field
want to understand market dynamics of mobile video
are launching a technology or vendor evaluation for trial or RFP


Short overview of the report:

Publication March 15, 2013
164 pages
89 diagrams and illustrations
Companies mentioned in the report: Acision, Alcatel Lucent, Allot / Ortiva wireless, Amdocs, Avvasi, Centri, Citrix/Bytemobile, Cisco, Comverse, Dialogic, DiViNetworks, Ericsson, Flash Networks, Genband, Huawei, Mahindra Comviva, Mobixell Networks, Movik, NEC, Nokia Siemens Networks, OnMobile, Openwave, Opera Skyfire , Rebaca Technologies, QuickFire Networks, Sandvine, Saguna Networks, Tellabs, Vantrix, Vasona Networks, Venturi Wireless... and others
New technology trends analysed in 2013: Adaptive Bit Rate, Cloud, DASH, WebM, HEVC h.265, HTML5, content / protocol encryption Show less

Video is a global phenomenon in mobile networks. In less than 3 years, it has exploded, from a marginal use case to dominating over 50% of mobile traffic in 2012.
Mobile networks until 3G, were designed and deployed predominantly for transactional data (messaging, email, browsing…). Video brings a new element to the equation. Users rarely complain if their text or email arrives late, in fact, they rarely notice. Video provides an immediate feedback. Consumers are increasingly judging a… Show more

Video is a global phenomenon in mobile networks. In less than 3 years, it has exploded, from a marginal use case to dominating over 50% of mobile traffic in 2012.
Mobile networks until 3G, were designed and deployed predominantly for transactional data (messaging, email, browsing…). Video brings a new element to the equation. Users rarely complain if their text or email arrives late, in fact, they rarely notice. Video provides an immediate feedback. Consumers are increasingly judging a network’s quality by their video experience.
With the wide implementation of HSPA (+) and the first LTE deployments, together with availability of new attractive smartphones, tablets and ultra book, it has become clear that today’s networks and price structure are ill-prepared to meet these new challenges.
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This report is a complete 360 degree review of the video optimization ecosystem, from its inception, the reasons for its appearance and growth, the technologies involved, the segment's size and growth rate, the technology vendors, their channels and suppliers, their differentiators and strategies... all you need to understand this market and its trajectory.

Adaptive Bit Rate streaming (ABR) was invented to enable content providers to provide video streaming services in an environment in which bandwidth would fluctuate. The benefit is clear; as a connection capacity changes over time, the video carried over that connection can vary its bit rate and therefore its size to adapt to the network conditions. The player or client and the server exchange discrete information on the control plane throughout the transmission whereby the server exposes the… Show more

Adaptive Bit Rate streaming (ABR) was invented to enable content providers to provide video streaming services in an environment in which bandwidth would fluctuate. The benefit is clear; as a connection capacity changes over time, the video carried over that connection can vary its bit rate and therefore its size to adapt to the network conditions. The player or client and the server exchange discrete information on the control plane throughout the transmission whereby the server exposes the available bit rates for the video being streamed and the client selects the appropriate version based on its reading of the current connection condition. Show less

Revenue sharing, network sharing, load sharing require traditional core network technologies to be exposed to external entities for a profitable model where brands, content owners, content providers and operators are not at war. New collaboration models need to be thought of.

Additionally, while the technology has made much progress, the next generation of DPI, PCRF, OSS/BSS will need to step up to allow for these sophisticated charging models.

Will CE vendors choose to use Android, now that Google is also a competitor, with Moto`s acquisition? Or will they try to emulate Samsung and create their closed ecosystem?

We are going to live interesting times in the age of video.

An article on the timing of LTE's mass market adoption.