Are vRAN and Open RAN the same concept or different?

My friend: Hi Ibrahim,

I have a question for you.

Me: Please, go ahead.

My friend: I read about vRAN and Open RAN and still have some confusion, are they the same?

Me: No, they are different. Actually, vRAN separates the SW from HW for the baseband functions and so the RAN baseband functions can run as SW on any commercial of the shelf (COTS) servers. However, the interfaces between the BBU and the RU is not open interface and still proprietary.

My friend: So, what about Open RAN?

Me: The key thing with Open RAN is that the interface between the BBU and RU is an open interface, so any BBU software from any vendor can work with any RU from another vendor and this is not possible with vRAN. So, you can consider Open RAN is more advanced step than vRAN assuming Open RAN is virtualized as well. The Open RAN makes the RAN open within all aspects and components, as it enables a “white box” RAN hardware which means that baseband units and radio units can be assembled from any vendor and managed by Open RAN software to form a truly interoperable and open RAN.

My friend: Thanks a lot. You made it clear.

Me: You are welcome.

Source: Ibrahim Sayed

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