Building an Open RAN Ecosystem in the United States
OpenAirInterface Software Alliance decided to incorporate the U.S.-based OpenAirInterface (OAI) Foundation in June 2024 to help establish a sustainable open-source wireless cellular ecosystem in the U.S. The cellular wireless open source community in the U.S. has been working with OAI software for many years. It includes academia, industry, and government agencies. However, it was felt that deeper engagement and a stronger U.S. presence were needed—not only to support the community in its day-to-day work but also to help lead Open RAN adoption and to train the next generation of the telecom engineering workforce.
OAI Foundation’s Mission
Building Generations of Cellular Wireless in Open Source
OpenAirInterface has delivered open-source 4G/5G wireless software over the years. As the standardization bodies, industry, research organizations, and academia explore 6G, OAI will focus on providing reference implementations for cellular networks of the future.
Reinforcing Workforce
There is broad consensus that our industry needs new blood: skilled engineers knowledgeable in multiple domains at the crossroads of communication theory, understanding of 3GPP, O-RAN, and related standards and Artificial Intelligence methodologies. The OAI team has a track record of running training in universities and research centers around the world. The OAI Foundation will foster talent and engage with its partners in the U.S. academic and research ecosystem to train a new workforce to advance skill development in Open RAN topics of network function development, deployment, and testing.
About the OAI Foundation
Established in 2024, the OAI Foundation is a non-profit trade association supported by corporate sponsors and public programs to further the mission of OpenAirInterface Software Alliance in the U.S. The primary purposes of the OAI Foundation are to engage with public and private programs to support the creation of sustainable and secure open-source information and communications technology, support the diverse OpenAirInterface community of contributors and users based in North America, respond to the growing need for open-source technologies of academic and research labs producing tomorrow’s telecom engineers and technology, provide open-source enablers to support economic initiatives leading to a competitive industrial environment in the telecommunications industry, and constantly invest in training a highly skilled workforce for the cellular wireless telecommunications industry, ensuring the U.S. competitiveness in this sector.
For more on the active projects in the OpenAirInterface community and for accessing the OAI open source code, refer to the home organization’s website here.