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Open RAN Challenges and Testing Needs for Real-World Performance

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Learn why real-world performance and multi-vendor interoperability testing in the lab makes all the difference for O-RAN deployments.

As networks continue to evolve, Open RAN is gaining traction as a key solution for promoting innovation, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

However, delivering on the vision of Open RAN is not simple. Open interfaces must enable high performance between functions provided by multiple vendors. Virtualized software running on vendor-neutral hardware must scale to support heavy traffic loads and deliver high-quality services, especially to the enterprise.

There have been several efforts to standardize interfaces, particularly in the RAN, for many, many years, and one of the motivations is lower cost. If the interfaces are standard, there is a wider ecosystem of companies providing those individual elements, and that creates competition and ultimately pricing pressure. But the other thing we've seen with O-RAN is that once you have competition, it's not all about cost. It's also about innovation and delivering new technologies. You can see the full promise of 5G and now there's a wider ecosystem that operators can pick and choose from when building their networks.

At Mobile World Congress this year, it was easy to see the sprawling expansion of the ecosystem. As an industry, we have achieved the objective to drive the ecosystem to grow from an O-RAN perspective. All the way from the chipset manufacturers to new network equipment manufacturers, everyone is bringing more innovation.

However, to go to the next level, there are quite a few challenges. If you look at the customers Spirent has spoken to, interviewed, and polled, there still seem to be three main challenges with O-RAN, primarily starting with multi-vendor interoperability.

I spoke with Spirent experts James Kimery and Anil Kollipara to further unpack pressing questions, such as:

  1. With CSPs starting to roll out production of O-RAN architectures, what are the key benefits?

  2. What unique challenges does O-RAN introduce to the market?

  3. What is different about testing O-RAN and why does it require a fresh approach?

  4. Why is automation critical?

  5. Where can people go to learn more about O-RAN?

Watch our conversation exploring the latest techniques for assessing real-world, multi-vendor interoperability and performance to understand why progressive testing - moving from isolated functional tests to full system tests - is a must.

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Evan Kirstel

産業インフルエンサー

通信業界とITの分野で30年にわたり大企業向け営業、提携、マーケティングを担当してきたEvanは、モバイル、ボイス/ビデオ/ウェブの連携、クラウドテクノロジーに関する豊富で実用的な知識を含め、統合通信、提携、CX領域で得られるチャンスについて独自の見解を携えています。彼は新興のクラウドとモバイルテクノロジーと、市場の集約化の動きを理解しており、大企業やサービスプロバイダーへ破壊的テクノロジーを販売しマーケティングする豊富な実績を持ちます。Evanは合計で50万人を超えるソーシャルメディアのフォロワーを持ち、Brand24から最も魅力的なデジタルマーケターの第4位に認定されています。Intel、3M、AT&T Business、Qualcomm、HPE、Telefonica、Samsung、Citrix、UIpath、Dell、EricssonなどのB2Bテクノロジーブランドと契約し、モバイル、ブロックチェーン、クラウド、ヘルステック、IoT、AI、デジタルヘルス、暗号化、AR、VR、ビッグデータ、分析、サイバーセキュリティを含む様々な市場セグメントで、こうした企業がソーシャルメディアの威力を活用して可視性と拡張性を最大限に高められるよう支援しています。