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Open RAN has moved beyond vision to become a deployable, scalable reality! O-RAN specifications have matured significantly, and open, cloud-native design is now a baseline expectation.

At the O-RAN ALLIANCE Summit at MWC Barcelona 2026, leading RAN infrastructure vendors confirmed their product lines now fully encompass O-RAN principles, reflecting on operators’ clear demand.

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So, has the RAN transformation been completed? Well, not quite yet…

We have proven that O-RAN can be deployed and we have demonstrated interoperability. The early adopters have shown the path.

For other operators, the time to follow is NOW!

And for the O-RAN ALLIANCE? The focus for 2026 and beyond is on consolidation of O-RAN specification work for updating EXISTING 5G NETWORKS.

We are working to accelerate completion of specifications that will enable widespread and easier deployment at scale. We will:

• Continue advancing the open fronthaul interface with additional features and, equally important, interoperability testing;
• Advance the support of intelligent automation with a mature decoupled SMO concept based on a full set of specified internal APIs - including RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) and their APIs towards 3rd party Apps;
• Mature the O1 management interface and O2 cloud orchestration interface to ensure they are production-ready.

These priorities advance the scale deployability of open RAN networks and at the same time enable AI applications operators need to streamline network operations and offer new services.

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For more on O-RAN achievements and priorities, check the O-RAN ALLIANCE Summit (available for free), especially the opening keynote.

• Featuring Thomas Lips, Chair of the Board of O-RAN ALLIANCE and SVP RAN Disaggregation & Enablement, Deutsche Telekom

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Also, check our earlier post on the state of O-RAN adoption.