VIAVI and the Telecom Infra Project test Open RAN

Author: Simon Rowley

VIAVI Solutions and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) today announced a strategic collaboration aimed at expanding the testing capabilities of the VIAVI Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR).

VALOR, made possible by a $21.7 million (£16.9m) grant from the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF), provides fully-automated, open and impartial testing and integration for Open RAN. VALOR provides a pathway to certification in the US for new entrants, start-ups and academia, and ensures the interoperability, performance, and security of Open RAN components.

TIP, a global consortium dedicated to advancing and adopting open and disaggregated networks, thrives on the collective contributions of its member companies. These contributions are critical to bringing innovation to the industry and facilitating a collaborative environment where innovative technologies are developed, tested, and certified, ready for deployment.

VIAVI’s involvement with TIP exemplifies this collaborative spirit, the company says. By bringing VALOR’s test-as-a-service capabilities to TIP, VIAVI advances the mission of TIP’s OpenRAN Project Group (PG) and enhances the broader industry’s ability to implement and certify Open RAN technologies.

TIP-authorised labs expand on the success of TIP’s network of Community Labs. This collaboration will streamline the certification process by VALOR becoming the first TIP-authorised test lab, reducing duplication of efforts and accelerating time-to-market for Open RAN solutions. TIP’s and VIAVI’s strategic cooperation promotes innovation and broad industry alignment, driving widespread adoption of Open RAN technologies globally.

Strategic collaboration overview:

1. Key benefits and contributions: VALOR offers cloud-based and virtual testing capabilities critical for modern, scalable network performance assessments. These capabilities will be incorporated into TIP’s system performance certification programme, providing a robust and flexible testing framework for component vendors and operators.
2. Enhancing testing capabilities: VIAVI and TIP will enhance VALOR’s testing capabilities that build on top of the O-RAN test specifications. This comprehensive approach will support the TIP community by ensuring that Open RAN systems meet high-performance standards and are robust enough to handle real-world network complexities.
3. Establishing VALOR as the first authorised test lab: VALOR will become the first of TIP’s network of authorised test labs, streamlining the certification process, reducing duplication of efforts, and accelerating the time-to-market for Open RAN solutions. Additionally, establishing VALOR as one of TIP’s authorised test labs ensures a high standard of testing and certification processes.
4. Developing a system performance certification framework: TIP’s community will leverage VALOR’s testing capabilities to help build a robust system performance certification framework, promoting innovation and industry alignment.

VIAVI and TIP’s collaboration to expand VALOR’s testing capabilities for Open RAN is poised to significantly reduce integration time and costs and improve data reliability and performance, resulting in the collective progress of open and disaggregated networks globally.

Kristian Toivo, Executive Director, TIP, says, “Through this appointment of VALOR as one of the TIP’s authorised labs, we are committed to advancing the Open RAN landscape by providing robust and streamlined testing frameworks. Comprehensive end-to-end testing ensures that Open RAN systems meet high-performance standards and are robust enough to handle real-world network complexities, thereby maintaining service quality and reducing downtime.

“In addition to the extreme performance testing, VALOR’s Open RAN virtual testing environment brings new capabilities to TIP Labs and the community. This strategic engagement fosters innovation, improves supply chain resilience, and accelerates the global adoption of Open RAN technologies, offering operators more flexible, cost-effective, and high-performance network solutions.”

Dr. Sameh Yamany, Chief Technology Officer, VIAVI, adds, “The collaboration between VIAVI and TIP enhances Open RAN system maturity by addressing multi-vendor deployment challenges, ensuring end-to-end system level performance testing from different vendors. VIAVI’s participation in TIP’s OpenRAN PG and Test and Validation Committee is supporting the creation of industry test plans at a global level. VALOR supports comprehensive end-to-end testing to verify performance, stability, and security under real-world conditions.

“Additionally, this initiative aims to reduce market fragmentation, create supply chain efficiencies, and build marketplace confidence through standardised testing and certification processes.”

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