Keysight, TIM and JMA Wireless Join Forces to Showcase O-RAN Technology at Mobile World Congress 2021

KEYSIGHT Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, has joined forces with TIM, an information and communication technology company in Europe and JMA Wireless, a global innovator in mobile wireless connectivity solutions, to showcase the latest open radio access network (O-RAN) technology at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2021 (MWC 21), to be held in Barcelona, Spain from June 28th to July 1st. 

The three companies are working on radio access network (RAN) technology based on open interfaces defined by the O-RAN ALLIANCE to speed deployment of O-RAN compliant 5G and 4G networks. TIM and JMA leveraged Keysight Open RAN Architect (KORA) solutions to verify conformance, interoperability, and performance of O-RAN subsystems, supporting new 5G service revenue opportunities.

"We're pleased to support TIM and JMA Wireless with solutions that enable O-RAN vendors to verify that each network component performs as expected in a multi-vendor network," said Giampaolo Tardioli, vice president and general manager for Keysight's network infrastructure business.

At MWC 21, TIM will adopt Keysight's RuSIM to emulate an O-RAN compliant radio unit (O-RU) and verify the functional, performance, and conformance of a distributed unit (O-DU) and central unit (O-CU) combination supplied by JMA Wireless. Supporting both 4G LTE and 5G new radio (NR), RuSIM enables users to verify delivery of multi-technology cellular services over the same O-RAN fronthaul interface.

"We are happy to join forces with TIM and Keysight to demonstrate open RAN solutions at MWC21," said Remo Ricci, Managing Director of JMA Italy and Head of International Sales. "Open RAN architectures give mobile operators the freedom to choose their preferred provider for each network element, while not constrained by previously deployed legacy technologies."

Keysight's RuSIM allows users to verify the end-to-end performance of the RAN by emulating real network traffic over an O-RAN fronthaul interface. It is part of Keysight's portfolio of radio access network (RAN), 5G core (5GC), and 5G new radio (NR) air interface test solutions, from the edge of the, RAN to the core of the network.

Keysight's Open RAN Architect uses thorough, repeatable, and automated processes to enable mobile operators and Open Test and Integration Centers (OTIC), as well as vendors of chipset designs and network infrastructure, to accelerate development, integration, and deployment of O-RAN-compliant equipment. Access to a common set of solutions simplifies the sharing of results across the workflow from pre-silicon to cloud deployments.