One of the primary and widely supported goals of open radio access network (RAN) — an alternative to Chinese vendor equipment — remains in conflict with the power structure of its most influential body.

China Mobile, a state-owned operator, leads or co-chairs seven of the 10 O-RAN Alliance working groups, according to Strand Consult CEO John Strand. He also, despite the O-RAN Alliance’s insistence that “no member has veto power,” claims that Chih Lin I, China Mobile’s chief scientist of wireless technologies, has veto power over the organization.

The O-RAN Alliance doesn’t necessarily hide the extent to which China-based companies are involved in its technical specifications development activities, but it’s falling short on its commitment to be “open and transparent.”

This very issue of Chinese influence, and specifically members of the group that are blacklisted by the U.S. government, hit a breaking point last summer when Nokia froze activities in the O-RAN Alliance. The organization quickly, albeit ambiguously, acquiesced to Nokia’s demands by clarifying that all participating companies can access and make technical contributions. 

“Some mobile operators have suggested that open RAN is the way to avoid Huawei, ZTE, and other Chinese vendors in mobile networks. However, Chinese companies are deeply involved with open RAN technical specifications, product roadmap, and strategy,” Strand explains. 

China Mobile, the world’s largest network operator, is more heavily involved and represented throughout the O-RAN Alliance structure than any other company, according to Strand. Operator executives hold leadership positions in the group’s board of directors, executive committee, technical steering committee, seven out of 10 working groups, and three out of four focus groups. 

China Mobile also remains one of five founding members of the O-RAN Alliance, which formed in 2018 following a combination of the U.S. based xRAN Forum and China based C-RAN Alliance.

Strand of the Denmark-based consultancy that bears his name admits there’s no evidence suggesting Chinese vendors or operators in the O-RAN Alliance are trying to thwart the stated vision for open RAN, but many companies the U.S. government considers a threat to national security “have a central role” in the group. 

“For those who are okay with China’s record on human rights and its geopolitical behavior, then there is not a problem. If, like me, you have a view on human rights and how China wants to influence the free world through technology, then there is a problem,” he said. 

It’s not just the makeup and inner workings of the O-RAN Alliance that detract from the collective message portrayed by open RAN’s loudest proponents. Technical contributions are largely derived from established players like Nokia, Ericsson, and China Mobile, according to Strand. 

“The open RAN pure plays contributed the least while the established players contributed the most,” he wrote in a research note. “Those who boast the loudest about open RAN are likely contributing the least” to the O-RAN Alliance.

The group’s leaders have also repeatedly declined requests for comment about these matters, which just emboldens the narrative about it being closed to outside scrutiny.

While Strand has some technical concerns about open RAN architecture as it stands today, he’s consistently made it clear that the O-RAN Alliance’s lack of transparency poses a much greater problem. 

As such, “I don’t think the O-RAN Alliance has a future,” he said, adding that openness and industry innovation already occurs in the 3GPP, a group that adheres to transparency requirements for standards developing organizations.

Indeed, O-RAN Alliance members such as Cisco and VMware acknowledge that some of the group’s technical specifications activities might be better addressed in a formal standards-setting body like 3GPP. However, none have yet publicly called for the group’s demise or complete transition to a more formal body.

“3GPP has already launched over 100 interfaces that create open networks,” Strand added. “I believe that the O-RAN Alliance will be swallowed up by the 3GPP. The notion that mobile operators can control and veto technological development does not have a future.”