AT&T and Rakuten Symphony have extended a multi-year partnership agreement to support the US carrier's Open RAN deployment across the US.

The extension will see AT&T speed up its adoption of Rakuten's site management to accelerate AT&T’s network simplification transformation project and 5G Open RAN deployments.

The two companies first signed an agreement back in February 2022.

Usage of Rakuten's site management will help AT&T consolidate and retire legacy applications and software to optimize productivity for its workers and contractors who are overseeing its Open RAN deployment and site build.

Rakuten's site management provides an end-to-end process orchestrator for cell site planning, design, compliance, and construction management.

Rakuten noted that the legacy tool replacement was "successfully completed without disruption to operations at an unprecedented pace of approximately 18 months from initial pilot."

“Rakuten Symphony’s expertise in workflow orchestration and creativity in ideating solutions to complex problems or functions has been instrumental in our success," said Alisha Remek, vice president, access construction & engineering, AT&T.

AT&T has gone big on Open RAN, which is tipped to promote competition in the wireless market and diversify the global supply chain. In late 2023, the operator signed a $14 billion contract with Ericsson for the build out of its network.

The carrier expects 70 percent of its mobile network traffic to flow across Open RAN platforms by late 2026.

Providing an update on its Open RAN progress earlier this year, Rob Soni, vice president, Radio Access Network (RAN) Technology, AT&T, told DCD that the company expects to have Open RAN coverage across the entirety of its network next year.

"We will be able to have nearly 100 percent coverage of the network sometime next year," said Soni in March.

Rakuten has carved out a number of Open RAN partnerships in recent years. Last year, Ukrainian carrier Kyivstar signed an Open RAN network deal with Rakuten.

In 2023, Rakuten opened its Rakuten Open RAN Customer Experience Center in the UK.

Open RAN has been seen as an important priority for the US, with the NTIA announcing that up to $420 million in funding has been made available to develop Open RAN networks in May.