Global Coalition on Telecommunications Open RAN Certification Principles Listening Session

In October 2023, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (United Kingdom); the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (Australia); the Department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development (Canada); the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (Japan); and NTIA (USA) announced their commitment to establish the Global Coalition on Telecommunications (GCOT). GCOT is the most comprehensive grouping of likeminded partners on a range of telecommunications-related topics, including telecommunications supplier diversity. GCOT will complement the work of other domestic and international groupings.  

GCOT aims to:  

• Increase cooperation and coordination between the GCOT partners on telecommunications, including by improving information sharing with a view to ensuring complementary national approaches;  
• Build broader international consensus on key areas of telecommunications policy in support of our shared objectives;  
• Enable dialogue between policymakers, industry, and academia; and   
• Promote innovation and growth opportunities for industry  

In order to enact these goals, GCOT intends to explore engagements that will enhance information sharing, support joint research and development, ensure alignment of funding priorities, support vision setting and standards development, and enhance coordination on international outreach and collaboration. GCOT’s immediate areas of focus are on telecommunications supply chain diversification and 6G and future telecommunications.  

On behalf of all GCOT partners, NTIA, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy (CDP), Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada (ISED), and the United Kingdom’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) is in the process of developing certification principles on Open RAN. These principles are intended to serve as a voluntary framework of recommendations for the telecommunications industry to develop a robust certification program to advance the maturity of the Open RAN market and ensure that certified Open RAN products are open, interoperable, and resilient. The discussions held at this session will be analyzed to help inform development of GCOT Certification Principles.