Ericsson has attended meetings of the ORAN Alliance and is now considering a more formal relationship with the operator-led group, which is widely seen as a challenge to the vendor's business model. The move could be a sign Ericsson is either bowing to new customer demands or trying to get a better look at a potential threat.

Formed in early 2018, the ORAN Alliance is pushing for technical changes that would allow operators to buy radio equipment from multiple vendors. Currently, the proprietary nature of interfaces used in the radio access network (RAN) locks service providers into one vendor's system, say ORAN Alliance spokespeople. (See Major Telcos Pool Efforts to Slash 5G RAN Costs.)

In an email sent to Light Reading, Ericsson AB (Nasdaq: ERIC) confirmed its involvement with the ORAN Alliance in response to a query about its membership status.

"We have engaged and participated in ORAN Alliance meetings. However, we are currently not an ORAN Alliance member," said the company. "Ericsson supports and aims to drive and actively engage in the discussions around future RAN architectures and open interfaces. We see ORAN as an important alliance that creates an arena for these discussions and we're evaluating how we can best contribute to this alliance."

The status quo would appear to suit Ericsson, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK), which collectively dominate the market for RAN equipment and services, by forcing operators to use those vendors or their partners. A more open RAN could lead to more competition and threaten sales of radio gear.