Keysight Selected by Chunghwa Telecom to Accelerate Verification of Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) Equipment

KEYSIGHT Technologies,a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, today announced that Chunghwa Telecom (NYSE: CHT), Taiwan's largest integrated telecommunications services company, has selected Keysight Open Radio Architect (KORA) solutions to accelerate verification of radio access network (RAN) equipment based on standards defined by the O-RAN ALLIANCE.  

Chunghwa Telecom, a provider of fixed-line, mobile, broadband and internet services, is the first operator in Taiwan to independently carry out multi-vendor integration and successfully verify open access network architecture. Rigorous testing under real-world conditions is critical to successful end-to-end integration of O-RAN equipment prior to live network deployment. Chunghwa uses KORA to deploy connectivity services that support transportation, manufacturing, energy, commerce, agriculture and medicine sectors, as well as consumers.

"Many mobile operators are embracing open, disaggregated RAN architectures to create a robust multi-vendor environment that supports the reliable delivery of a diverse range of mobile broadband services," said Kalyan Sundhar, vice president and general manager for Keysight's 5G Edge to Core Solutions. "We are pleased to provide Chunghwa Telecom with software-driven test tools that include built-in test automation capabilities, resulting in scalable and rapid validation of O-RAN compliant network infrastructure."

Chunghwa selected Keysight's user equipment (UE) emulation solution (UeSIM) and O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) emulator (RuSIM), which are part of the KORA portfolio. Major mobile vendors, hyperscale data centers and service providers use KORA to verify interoperability between O-RUs, distributed units (O-DUs) and central units (O-CUs) across the protocol stack, as well as to validate conformance of network elements to the latest O-RAN specifications.

"We are committed to creating an optimal communications environment based on O-RAN, 4G LTE, 5G, IoT, cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), among other key technologies," said Chung-Yung Chia, vice president at Chunghwa Telecom Mobile Business Group. "Keysight enables us to quickly and confidently deploy advanced technologies that underpin Chunghwa's digital transformation strategy."

In 2021, Chunghwa Telecom co-hosted the Taiwan Plugfest part of the third global O-RAN ALLIANCE Plugfest event, which took place in ten countries across Asia, the Unites States and Europe. At the Taiwan Plugfest, Chunghwa Telecom alongside multiple vendors of O-RAN equipment used KORA solutions UeSIM, RuSIM, CoreSIM and Open RAN Studio to verify interoperability, security and end-to-end performance.