Keysight Accelerates Open RAN by Co-Organizing First Global OTIC Summit

KEYSIGHT Technologies, Inc. co-organized the first Global Open Testing and Integration Centers (OTIC) Summit with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) in close partnership with O-RAN ALLIANCE. The event, which took place August 23-24, aimed to foster collaboration with the OTICs and accelerate innovation and adoption of O-RAN solutions by sharing visions, roadmaps, plans, and best practices. 

• Summit strengthens collaboration among Open Testing and Integration Centers and members of the global Open RAN ecosystem.

• Summit workshop identifies the need for high quality O-RAN Certificates and Badges.

• Keysight demonstrates leadership in 5G and Open RAN security, energy savings, RAN intelligent controller optimization, and non-terrestrial networks.

O-RAN ALLIANCE has approved 15 OTICs globally with the intent of leveraging their expertise and state-of-the art lab testing facilities to accelerate Open RAN technology adoption and commercial deployments. SUTD hosts the Asia & Pacific OTIC in Singapore with the other OTICs located in the rest of Asia, Europe, and U.S.

Keysight co-facilitated a workshop at this summit in which leading operators provided their feedback on the OTICs, O-RAN Certification, and Badging. High-quality certificates and badges with repeatable and consistent test results were among few of the key expectations identified, as this will provide operators with confidence that the O-RAN network functions are adhering to O-RAN specifications and supporting multi-vendors interoperability.

Keysight showcased its leading 5G and Open RAN test solution portfolio in collaboration with partners to help demonstrate vendor solutions maturity and deployment readiness:

• 5G and O-RAN Security – Keysight's Security Test Suite was used to perform automated 3GPP Security Assurance Specification (SCAS) testing and reporting with Quanta Cloud Technology's commercial gNodeB.

• O-RAN Energy Consumption – Keysight's Energy Plane Test Suite was used to perform automated energy consumption measurements and characterization of LITEON's O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU), leveraging ETSI standardized methodology and reporting, RAN energy consumption measurements, and characterization.

• O-RAN RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) – Keysight's RIC Test Suite was used to perform closed loop automated verification of Juniper Network's RIC, including the AI/ML-enabled RAN Admissions Control xApps/rApps.

• 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) – Keysight's End-to-End (E2E) NTN test bed was used to demonstrate 3GPP Release 17 NTN NR technology in a live-to-lab setup where an entire NTN communications network was emulated with Keysight's UE emulator (UeSIM), channel emulator (PROPSIM), and base station emulator (UXM). Each of these Keysight products can be used for testing the NTN base stations and NTN devices separately.

More than 190 participants from 12 countries representing network operators, government agencies, vendors, lab operators, academia, and O-RAN ALLIANCE leadership team attended the event.

Peng Cao, Vice President, and General Manager for Keysight's Wireless Test Group, said: "Open RAN is making significant progress with increased lab testing, more field trials, and widespread global deployment plans. Keysight sees the OTICs playing an instrumental role in enabling the Open RAN ecosystem with its world-class test and integration lab capabilities and expertise. Keysight co-organized this first global OTIC summit with SUTD, IMDA, and O-RAN ALLIANCE with the goal of strengthening collaboration among OTICs and Open RAN ecosystem partners to accelerate multi-vendors Open RAN deployments."

Dr. Alex Choi, Chairman, O-RAN ALLIANCE and SVP Group Technology, Deutsche Telekom, said: "The first Global OTIC Summit in Singapore marked a watershed moment in collaboration, uniting OTICs for the first time. This summit not only provided a unique platform for the exchange of knowledge, insights, and best practices but also, with Keysight's invaluable support, showcased the forefront of technology with Singapore's FCCLab emphasizing its O-RAN R&D and testing process."

Dr. Chih-Lin I, Chief Scientist of China Mobile and Co-Chair of the Technical Steering Committee of the O-RAN ALLIANCE said: "Congratulations on the successful organization of this landmark event addressing the critical topic of testing and integration in Open RAN. This event was held at just the right time, when OTICs began to flourish globally. Keysight has been among the most valuable members of the O-RAN ALLIANCE, providing active contributions and leadership. I really appreciate their effort, with the support of IMDA and the partnership of SUTD in jointly organizing this event. I am so pleased to see the key stakeholders gathered together, sharing their ideas, experience, and deep thoughts with each other. This endeavor will no doubt greatly accelerate the momentum and maturity of both Open RAN technology and its ecosystem."

Prof. Tony Quek, Director of Future Communications R&D Programme (FCP) and Head of Pillar, Information Systems Technology and Design at SUTD, said: "Together with IMDA and Keysight, SUTD is glad to organize the first Global OTIC summit aimed at bringing together different stakeholders and OTICs from around the world to strengthen collaboration and share expertise to make Open RAN a success."

Jun Chie, Vice President, and General Manager for Keysight's Asia Pacific Sales, said: "This summit was a great opportunity to showcase Keysight's 5G and Open RAN test solution portfolio in collaboration with our partners. The successful demonstrations strengthen Keysight's position at the forefront of Open RAN technology adoption and commercial deployment."

Dr. Sadayuki Abeta, Global Head of Open RAN Solutions, NTT DOCOMO, Inc., said: "5G is expected to not only be an extension of previous wireless generations, but also to create a whole new world, where we can directly affect and help solve social issues with 5G services. Open RAN is one of the keys to realizing various types of deployment scenarios. This event accelerates the collaboration of OTICs in order to expand the Open RAN ecosystem."

Mike Yang, President of Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT), said: "QCT, as a data center and 5G solution provider, is pleased to provide its gNB with the Keysight Test Suite for security assurance validation. The test results show that QCT is not only a trustworthy partner, but also resilient in keeping the integrity and confidentiality of data over 5G Next Generation RAN. Moving forward, QCT will continue to drive the evolution of industry standards as a leading contributor to Open RAN."

Anson Chiu, President of LITE-ON Technology Corp., said: "At LITEON, we set a high bar on quality. That's why we have validated the energy plane test with Keysight's test equipment to demonstrate that LITEON's products are ETSI standardized. We believe that in-depth collaboration with Keysight will accelerate the development of the Open RAN market."

Arda Akman, Senior Director of Software Engineering, Juniper Networks, said: "Juniper Networks would like to congratulate O-RAN ALLIANCE, Keysight Technologies, SUTD, and IMDA for the successful organization of the first Global OTIC Summit. We are excited to demonstrate Juniper Networks' RAN Intelligent Controller and Admissions Control application through our strategic partnership with Keysight Technologies at this event."

Dr. Aloizio P. da Silva, Director of CCI xG Testbed, Commonwealth Cyber Initiative Virginia Tech, representing North American OTIC in Washington DC/Arlington VA (Virginia Tech), said: "As a leader for the Washington DC metro area USA OTIC host, I see the OTIC Summit as a great initiative to learn about the activities of other OTICs and define a joint path for reliable and best practices on O-RAN testing."

Mark Poletti, Director, Wireless, CableLabs, representing Kyrio O-RAN Test and Integration Lab, said: "CableLabs appreciates the opportunity to be included in the first Global OTIC Summit in Singapore and to be part of ongoing industry leadership and development of Open RAN. It is very beneficial to share learnings and test methodologies with other OTIC labs to establish improvements to test capabilities and common test approaches that offer better alignment with operator needs. We look forward to continued collaboration with the OTIC and O-RAN community with our neutral 5G and Open RAN test lab to help accelerate Open RAN adoption and commercial deployment."

Yu Shi, Director, Business Development of 7Layers, representing Asia & Pacific OTIC by ritt7layers, said: "The first OTIC Summit has resulted in valuable innovations to overcome the challenges of the Open RAN industry and move towards commercial deployments. I hope this event is a start of consistent collaboration among industry partners."

Dr. Michele Polese, Principal Research Scientist at the Northeastern University Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things (WIoT), representing North American OTIC in the Boston Area (Northeastern University), said: "The Northeastern University Open6G OTIC is leading research and development in automated testing for energy efficiency and AI/ML in Open RAN. We are happy to join the first Global OTIC Summit to push forward discussions on continuous testing for Open RAN, a key element for a successful transition to more open, programmable, and intelligent cellular networks."

Selena Hsu, Vice President of Auray OTIC and Security Lab, Auray Technology Corp., said: "It is my pleasure to join the first OTIC Summit workshop in Singapore and to gain a better understanding of challenges and solutions among OTICs and operators. I am looking forward, with support from O-RAN ALLIANCE, to having operators share current and future profiles with OTICs after this event."

Ivan Seskar, Chief Technologist of WINLAB, Rutgers University, representing North American OTIC in NYC Metro Area/East (COSMOS), said: "The OTIC Summit offered a distinct opportunity to both understand the capabilities of fellow OTICs worldwide and to share our own experiences. Furthermore, the event fostered a dynamic exchange of ideas between OTIC representatives and the O-RAN leadership. Such interactions are pivotal in aligning the vision and strategies of research centers with the broader objectives of the O-RAN ALLIANCE." 

Resources

· First Global OTIC Summit

First Global OTIC Summit (L-R): Ivan Seskar, North American OTIC (COSMOS); Yu Shi, Asia & Pacific OTIC by ritt7layers; Prof. Chen BinBin, Asia & Pacific OTIC in Singapore, SUTD; Peng Cao, VP/GM, Wireless, Keysight; Dr. Aloizio P. da Silva, North American OTIC (Virginia Tech); Dr. Alex Choi, Chairman of O-RAN ALLIANCE, SVP Group Technology, Deutsche Telekom; Julie Kub, 5G Challenge Program Leader, NTIA, ITS; Selena Hsu, Auray OTIC and Security Lab; Dr. I-Chih Lin, Co-Chair of TSC O-RAN ALLIANCE, Chief Scientist of China Mobile; Mark Poletti, Kyrio OTIC; Mitsuhiro Kuchitsu, Japan OTIC; Prof. Tony Quek, Director of FCP, SUTD; Prof. Chong Tow Chong, President, SUTD; Dr. Michele Polese, North American OTIC (Northeastern University); Dr. Ong Chen Hui, Assistance Chief Executive, BizTech Group, IMDA; Koo Eng Wei, Dir. of Tech., Keysight; Nga Chee Wei, Director of Emerging Tech Office, IMDA; Dr. Sadayuki Abeta, Global Head, Open RAN, NTT DOCOMO; Jun Chie, VP/GM, Asia Pacific Sales, Keysight. 

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