STOCKHOLM - AT&T said on Monday it plans to use so-called ORAN technology for 70% of its wireless network traffic in the United States by late 2026 and will move from two telecom vendors to one.

ORAN or open radio access network promises to radically cut costs for telecom operators as it uses cloud-based software and gear from many suppliers instead of relying on proprietary equipment supplied by a handful of companies that do not work with each other.

While the technology has been tested by several telecom providers, it has not been widely adopted. AT&T's push for the technology will likely be a major boost for Open RAN.

The U.S. telecom company's spending could approach roughly $14 billion over the five-year term of the contract with that one vendor, the company said. Both Ericsson and Nokia supply to AT&T.

(Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm Editing by Matthew Lewis)