Verizon ended speculation by naming former Vodafone Group executive Santiago Tenorio (pictured) as its new CTO and SVP of strategy and technology enablement, a move which could signal the US operator is ready to dive deeper into open RAN.

A representative from Verizon told Mobile World Live Tenorio’s CTO position is a new role within a newly formed organisation.

Tenorio is scheduled to begin the role on 28 October, reporting to Joe Russo, EVP and president of global network and technology at Verizon, with the strategy and technology enablement team due to begin operations on the same day.

Verizon stated Tenorio will lead its work in advancing new 5G use cases, along with collaborations “to lead new technology advancements and map out the next generation of technologies”.

“As we continue to advance our 5G and 5G-Advanced network builds, this is the right time to also look towards the future technology Verizon will enable,” Russo stated.

As Vodafone’s network architecture director, Tenorio played a key role in developing its open RAN strategy during a 25-year career, while also working on cloud networking and network APIs.

He also served as chair of the Telecom Infra Project until his departure from Vodafone, with AT&T VP of RAN technology Rob Soni replacing him

At Vodafone, Tenorio and his team oversaw all network technology-related decisions and defined its roadmap across mobile and fixed networks.

Previously, he served as CTO for Vodafone Ireland and as chief network officer in the UK.

Last month he was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK.

Vendor diversity
Vodafone has made open RAN strides across Europe, including pilot tests in Romania and Italy.

Earlier this year, Verizon increased its functional testing of open RAN after delaying deployments planned in 2023.

It is focusing on the interoperability of multi-vendor equipment having previously relied on single manufacturers and deployed 130,000 compatible Samsung radios in February as part of a virtualised RAN push designed to equip 20,000 sites by 2025.