House of Commons · Written Ministerial Statement
International Cooperation on Telecoms Diversification
08 December 2022 · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Proposed by Julia Lopez Con Hornchurch and Upminster
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
At a glance
Key points
- The UK, Australia, Canada, and the United States are endorsing the UK's Open RAN Principles.
- Governments are committing to collaborate on information sharing and policy approaches in telecoms diversification.
- The initiative aims to support a diverse telecoms supply chain and builds on previous commitments like the 250 million Open Networks Fund.
Issue summary
The statement addresses international cooperation on telecoms diversification through joint efforts with Australia, Canada, and the United States.
Action requested
The governments are endorsing UK’s Open RAN Principles and committing to collaborate in areas such as information sharing on policy approaches and supporting industry transparency. The announcement builds on previous commitments like the £250 million Open Networks Fund and aims for ongoing international support for a diverse telecoms supply chain.
Key facts
- DCMS is announcing a joint statement with Australia, Canada, and the United States.
- The UK’s Open RAN Principles are being endorsed by these governments.
- The £250 million Open Networks Fund was committed at the 2021 Spending Review to support Open RAN solutions.
- Up to £36 million is allocated for research and development through the Future RAN Competition (FRANC).
- Up to £25 million is set aside for the Future Open Networks Research Challenge.
- Funding includes testing facilities such as SmartRAN Open Networks Interoperability Centre (SONIC) and UK Telecoms Lab.
- Vodafone and Telefonica have deployed their first live Open RAN sites with new market entrants.