5G New Radio Open Radio Access Network Implementation in Brazil: Review and Cost Assessment

With the advances of Radio Access Networks, the Open RAN introduced the concept of virtualization and openness to the mobile network elements. These characteristics allow multi-vendor implementations in commercial out-of-shelf hardware with open radio interfaces beyond flexibility and scalability, permitting bringing the data processing to the network edge and easy network element escalation. In Brazil, Radio Access Networks comprise distributed and centralized architectural topology types, which do not meet the requirements of the 5G New Radio wireless mobile network. To reach the 5G needs, an upgrade in the existing network is necessary, revealing some challenges over the existing scenario. This study shows the state-of-art, political, and economic factors that challenge the implementation of Open RAN in Brazil, analyzing the actual regulatory and political facts that can make the technology affordable and possible to introduce quickly to the market.