The Federal Communications Commission last week announced that it has established GN Docket No. 21-63, Promoting the Deployment of 5G Open Access Radio Networks (ORAN), and released a draft Notice of Inquiry that the Commission will vote on at its March 3, 2021 monthly meeting.

The Notice of Inquiry will address network integrity and supply chain reliability issues related to open and virtualized radio access networks, including whether and how ORAN deployment could further FCC policy goals and statutory obligations, advance legislative priorities, and benefit American consumers. Among other things, the NOI will seek comment on:

• the current status of ORAN development and deployment domestically and internationally;
• potential public interest benefits in promoting ORAN development and deployment;
• potential software vulnerabilities or risks posed by a virtualized operating environment;
• barriers to ORAN development and deployment and what efforts the FCC could or should undertake to promote ORAN development and deployment; and
• how the FCC can collaborate with and/or leverage ORAN research and development activities in academia and other federal agencies.