How Open Ran Transforms Mobile Networks

Trends and Development in Open Ran - A great read. 5G Americas White paper https://lnkd.in/gfq5S6bP Trends and Developments in Open RAN covers these essential topics: Energy Efficiency: New Open RAN specifications enable features like advanced sleep modes and selective channel activation, reducing power consumption and contributing to network sustainability. Enhanced Beamforming: Demodulation Reference Signal based Beamforming (DMRS-BF) optimizes uplink performance and enables more efficient fronthaul bandwidth use, especially in capacity-constrained scenarios. Security Solutions: With a focus on Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), the paper outlines the adoption of MACsec encryption in fronthaul networks, ensuring secure, reliable communication. New Use Cases: Open RAN’s adaptability fosters new applications, from cloud automation to enterprises connectivity and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) integration, including satellite support, which expands connectivity to remote and underserved areas. Maturation of RAN technologies: As RAN technologies mature, RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) become more pivotal by enabling programmability through xApps and rApps. By enhancing network automation and optimization, the RIC enables mobile network operators to manage and tailor network resources dynamically to meet evolving user demands. Ecosystem Expansion: Rapid expansion of Open RAN ecosystem, fostering collaboration among chipset vendors, hardware providers, and system integrators. The growth is supported by global deployments, industry shifts towards open and interoperable networks, and strong partnerships like O-RAN Alliance and ETSI, with backing from US government initiatives to enhance testing and interoperability. Additionally, the white paper underscores 5G Americas’ commitment to supporting the Open RAN ecosystem, as industry players work towards a more versatile, secure, and globally harmonized network environment. It also offers a glimpse into ongoing research by the O-RAN ALLIANCE’s next Generation Research Group (nGRG) on open and intelligent RAN principles essential for 6G. “Open RAN is breaking down proprietary barriers, driving multi-vendor interoperability, and fostering cloud-native scalability. This momentum reflects the industry’s dedication to innovation, and with continued adoption from greenfield to brownfield networks and into new verticals, Open RAN is set to redefine network efficiency and sustainability for the future,” said Gaurav Sehgal, Senior Manager of Product Marketing at Mavenir and 5G Americas contributor. “Open RAN’s interoperable design marks a new era of innovation, driving a dynamic ecosystem that benefits operators and consumers alike,” said Sanil Ramachandran, Director of Technology, Networks Business at Samsung Electronics America, and co-leader of the 5G Americas Open RAN working group. https://lnkd.in/gAgrZimK

The potential benefits of building a network made up of disaggregated, open solutions are easily articulated and understood. However, with the commercial momentum building up and more Open RAN players entering the sector, operators have faced an associated challenge around integrating the disaggregated systems. The traditional approach for an operator is to take a product from a vendor or systems integrator into a lab, simulate a network around it, and test it for conformance and performance acting as the system integrator as well, verifying all the elements of the system and all the interfaces between them. Each operator has to go through the test, validation and integration process for this for all the vendors they engage with Every vendor has to go through the same, often duplicated, processes at every operator. That huge replication and duplication of processes take up time and resources. There is a better way. The Telecom Infra Project way. In 2023, this is how TIP addressed these challenges: ➡ We have introduced Testing and certification for Open RAN: SCOPE. Open RAN System Certification called SCOPE, outlining how TIP will drive efficiency in the Open RAN supply chain and accelerate deployment of Open RAN. TIP’s SCOPE is the result of broad consultation within the industry. As TIP operates a global community, SCOPE also responds to the need for a controlled global alignment requested by governments and regulators. TIP’s SCOPE will enable a “test once; deploy many times” approach to achieving supply chain efficiencies and engendering confidence to deploy Open RAN technology into live networks, without every operator having to conduct individual comprehensive system tests. Implementing the process across participating regions will enable global scale and accelerate the deployment of Open RAN. ➡ TIP created a blueprint for scenario 15, this is, an indoor/small cell solution for mono-operators with vDU/vCU and OFH. The blueprint is expected to be deployed in indoor environments, offering data and voice services [services] in areas that may be already or not yet covered by LTE service to expand network bandwidth to meet the network needs of enterprises, manufacturing industries, and individuals. ➡ with the cooperation of Airtel India, TIP released a new blueprint for Macro/outdoor deployment, using Scenario 3 as defined by the MoU. This scenario supports O-RU and vDU on site, with centralized vCU; this is, a midhaul interface exists between the vDU and the vCU. The blueprints are expected to be deployed in urban/suburban environments Operators are asking for Open RAN solutions that have been validated to meet their operational requirements and can be integrated with other elements within their network architecture without operators re-testing every element from the first principles. And TIP is here to deliver. #yearinreview #telecominfraproject #telecom #projectgroups

The AI-RAN Taking Shape I'm thrilled to announce our latest research contribution that fundamentally transforms how we design, deploy, and test key functionalities of cellular networks. Our new paper "ALLSTaR - Automated LLM-Driven Scheduler Generation and Testing for Intent-Based RAN" represents three major industry firsts: ⚡ First-Ever Automated Scheduler Generation: We've developed LLM agents that automatically convert research papers into functional code, generating 18 different scheduling algorithms directly from academic literature using OCR and AI. No more months of manual implementation in ns-3 or Matlab! Automatically generated schedulers are automatically deployed in a live network as dApps through a CI/CD pipeline - without the need to change a single line of code in the gNodeB implementation (CU or DU);  ⚡ Intent-Based Scheduling: Network operators can now express high-level requirements in natural language ("prioritize users with bursty traffic") and ALLSTaR automatically translates these into optimized scheduling policies according to operator’s intent. ⚡ World's First O-RAN Compliant AI-RAN Testbed: All validation conducted on X5G with AutoRAN, production-grade, multi-vendor 5G infrastructure with GPU acceleration, AI-for-RAN and AI-and-RAN capabilities, demonstrating real-world viability at scale. This work also introduces a methodological paradigm shift: instead of implementing one algorithm at a time, we can now systematically evaluate a vast body of scheduling literature in production-like environments. We're moving from manual, months-long integration processes to automated, intent-driven networks that adapt in real-time. This is the Open RAN and the AI-RAN vision - and a pathway toward 6G that builds on our national strengths and open ecosystem. Full paper: https://lnkd.in/eTNWPNRR Open6G www.open6g.us #ORAN #AIRan #OpenRAN #5G #WirelessResearch #AI #MachineLearning #Telecommunications #Research Our brilliant team: Maxime Elkael Michele Polese Reshma Prasad Stefano Maxenti Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering NSF AI-EDGE Institute National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Qualcomm

📡 RAN: The Evolutionary Core of Mobile Networks (and Its Role in Private 5G) The Radio Access Network (RAN) is the essential bridge connecting mobile users to the core network. What used to be a rigid, site-based architecture has evolved into something far more flexible, scalable, and intelligent. Today, there are four main approaches in this evolution: 🔸 D-RAN (Distributed RAN): The traditional model, where the baseband unit (BBU) and the radio (RRH) are colocated at each cell site. It ensures low latency but limits scalability and increases operational costs. 🔸 C-RAN (Centralized RAN): Centralizes several BBUs in one location, connecting radios via fronthaul links. This improves efficiency, enables inter-cell coordination, and reduces energy consumption. 🔸 vRAN (Virtualized RAN): Moves RAN functions to software running on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. It supports automation, flexibility, and cost reduction. 🔸 Open RAN: The most disruptive architecture. It defines open and standardized interfaces, allowing components from multiple vendors to work together. This fosters innovation, vendor diversity, and network customization. 🏭 So, how does this relate to Private 5G? In a big way. Industrial, logistics, healthcare, and energy organizations are increasingly deploying private 5G networks to gain full control over their connectivity. To do this efficiently, they’re turning to vRAN and Open RAN, which allow them to: ✅ Customize networks to specific needs ✅ Integrate multi-vendor solutions ✅ Scale without proprietary lock-in ✅ Automate with built-in network intelligence (AI/ML) The future of mobile networks isn't just 5G/6G — it's modular, virtualized, and open. And it all starts with a smarter RAN. #RAN #OpenRAN #vRAN #5G #Telecom #Private5G #NetworkArchitecture #MobileNetworks