Witnesses say Open RAN and AI‑native wireless are central to U.S. strategy for 6G and telecom competitiveness
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Summary
Industry witnesses told the subcommittee that Open RAN, AI‑native radio access networks and AI sensing are critical to U.S. leadership in next‑generation wireless and to competing with Chinese vendors.
Several witnesses described how Open RAN and AI‑native wireless technologies could reshape the telecommunications landscape and help U.S. firms compete globally.
Ronnie Vasishta of NVIDIA told members that countries that build “AI infrastructure” and define AI‑native 6G standards will reap economic advantage; he said the fusion of AI and telecom will enable software‑defined networks, improved spectral efficiency and new classes of devices.
Jim Hsieh, CEO of DeepSig, described how AI can replace fixed wireless algorithms to improve spectrum efficiency, adapt beams in massive MIMO and accelerate spectrum sensing for both commercial and defense applications. Hsieh said AI sensing can detect and learn new signals in hours rather than weeks.
Open RAN and competition: witnesses said Open RAN (disaggregated, standards‑based radio access) lowers barriers for new entrants and when combined with AI enables software updates to add features rather than wholesale hardware replacement. Pickering and others argued that Open RAN plus AI would reduce reliance on proprietary vendors.
Security and spectrum sharing: witnesses highlighted AI’s role in detecting fake base stations and in fast spectrum sharing to protect incumbents such as naval radar in CBRS and other bands.
Ending: witnesses urged Congress to support R&D, standards engagement and programs such as NTIA’s public wireless supply chain innovation fund to accelerate U.S. leadership in AI‑native wireless.
