The US Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has announced that up to $420 million in funding has been made available to develop Open RAN networks.

It's the second Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.

The NTIA stated that aim of the NOFO is to "drive commercialization and innovation in open radio units."

The investment follows the $42 million handed to Verizon, AT&T, plus other operators, vendors, and developers for Open RAN development earlier this year.

This investment is funded by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, arriving as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s 'Investing in America' agenda to foster competition and strengthen supply chain resilience.

Open RAN aims to allow providers to ‘mix and match’ solutions from multiple vendors, which is impossible with proprietary network equipment.

“This $420 million investment will help shore up our supply chain and create opportunities for companies from the US and our allies,” said assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and NTIA administrator Alan Davidson.

“Open, interoperable networks will facilitate competition, make our supply chains more secure, and lead to lower costs.”

The US is keen to develop open radio units, which are built in the US or with its global allies and partners, and not vendors from nations it deems to be a security risk.

According to the NTIA, the latest funding will aim to develop open radio unit commercialization and radio unit innovation.

NTIA expects to grant between $25 million and $45 million per commercialization award, and $5 million to $10 million per innovation award. It said that applications are due July 10.

So far, the NTIA has awarded more than $140 million to 17 grantees through the first Notice of Funding Opportunity.

It expects to make awards from this second round later this year.