NTT DOCOMO and Nokia have launched a commercial multi-vendor Open RAN (O-RAN) base station deployment, moving the open-interface radio architecture from lab trials into live network operation in Japan.

The deployment makes DOCOMO one of the first major operators worldwide to run commercial O-RAN base stations built from equipment sourced across multiple vendors rather than from a single end-to-end supplier. Nokia supplies the radio and baseband elements, with the open fronthaul interfaces defined by the O-RAN Alliance allowing equipment from different manufacturers to interoperate within the same site.

For DOCOMO, the move extends a long-running open RAN programme. The Japanese operator has positioned itself as an early commercial adopter of O-RAN architecture, having previously introduced multi-vendor base stations in its live network ahead of most global peers. The new deployment with Nokia adds a second major infrastructure vendor into that mix under commercial service conditions rather than trial terms.

The O-RAN Alliance specifications that underpin the deployment are designed to open the radio access network by standardising interfaces — most critically the fronthaul link between the radio unit and the baseband unit — so that operators can combine radios, baseband units and RAN software from different suppliers. The approach aims to widen the operator supply base beyond the traditional clutch of end-to-end vendors and to introduce more competition into RAN procurement.

Nokia frames its role in the project as evidence that an incumbent large vendor can operate inside an open, multi-vendor environment — a counter to the argument that O-RAN primarily serves as a route for new entrants to displace established equipment makers. The Finnish vendor supplies radio units that comply with O-RAN open fronthaul standards, allowing DOCOMO to integrate them alongside base station equipment from other suppliers in the same deployment.

The commercial distinction matters. Operators in several markets, including Rakuten Mobile in Japan and Dish in the United States, have built networks around open RAN principles from the outset, but brownfield operators with established single-vendor estates face a harder integration task. DOCOMO's deployment demonstrates the retrofit path: introducing multi-vendor O-RAN base stations into a nationwide network that already carries live traffic, without a network-wide swap.

Vendor messaging around O-RAN routinely emphasises flexibility and supply-chain resilience; the harder commercial test is whether multi-vendor sites match the performance, integration speed and operational stability of single-vendor deployments at comparable cost. A live commercial deployment by one of the world's largest operators provides a working reference point for that assessment, though neither party has published comparative cost or performance figures alongside the launch.

The deployment also lands at a moment when O-RAN adoption is spreading beyond early movers. Operators in Europe, North America and Asia have committed to open RAN targets in procurement and, in some markets, regulatory policy. Japan remains the most advanced commercial proving ground, and DOCOMO's decision to expand multi-vendor operations with Nokia signals that the architecture has cleared the bar for live service in a Tier 1 network.

DOCOMO is expected to continue expanding multi-vendor O-RAN base stations across its network as additional sites and vendor combinations come online.