The Evolution of Mobile Network Operations: A Comprehensive Analysis of Open RAN Adoption

As Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) seek to revolutionise their infrastructures and meet the growing demands of a data -centric world, the adoption of open RAN (Radio Access Network) technology has emerged as a compelling solution. This paper offers a comprehensive exploration of open RAN's transformative potential within the MNO landscape and investigates the concrete implementation opportunity of Open -RAN (O -RAN). Starting out by providing an exhaustive overview of the state of the art in open RAN technology, research and deployments, leads to an in-depth analysis of the decision roadmap of open RAN adoption. This roadmap considers the network design, vendor criteria and implementation strategy. This paper contributes with a comprehensive examination of components and an overview of increasingly complex design opportunities including functional split and accelerator options. Thus, it serves as an enlightening and pragmatic guide for MNOs navigating the transition to opening the interfaces in their RAN. Finally the paper proposes a pragmatic exploration of implementation strategies, providing insights to the drawbacks MNOs will face and proposed solutions. Hence, this paper highlights how the O -RAN system is built in modules, which adds additional importance to the increasingly complex design phase when multiple aspects must be evaluated to become the (r)evolution of mobile networks.