O-RAN conformance certification for international markets

Rohde & Schwarz and VIAVI Solutions, Inc. have announced support for Auray OTIC and Security Lab in the process of awarding O-RAN conformance certification for international markets. The certification of an O-RU of the RPQN series from Foxconn was conducted according to O-RAN specified processes and procedures as defined by the O-RAN ALLIANCE.

Auray OTIC and Security Lab employed a combined testbed including the VIAVI TM500 O-RU Tester and the R&S SMW200A, R&S FSW and R&S VSE from Rohde & Schwarz, with the O-RU Test Manager from VIAVI as single point of control, offering a seamless user experience.

All approved Open Testing and Integration Centers (OTIC) worldwide cooperate with the O-RAN ALLIANCE in the O-RAN Certification and Badging Program, which symbolises a comprehensive mechanism to provide confidence in O-RAN solutions within the industry. O-RAN is making radio access networks more open, disaggregated and flexible. Opening the network architecture may foster innovation, meet individual needs and improve network efficiency. Therefore, it is experiencing rapid progress and growth in the technology ecosystem.

Foxconn has created the RPQN series 5G NR Radio Units (O-RU) to be fully compliant to O-RAN ALLIANCE standards. Its 4T/4R small cell radios are covering 5G NR bands n79, n78, n77 and n48. They are compact, lightweight, simple to install, and offer optimal coverage for indoor applications. The design has achieved the extensive 3GPP and O-RAN compliance testing and is also certified in most major regions for CE, FCC, TELEC and NCC in Taiwan.

The O-RU verification followed the O-RAN fronthaul conformance test specification described by WG4, including the Control, User, and Synchronisation plane (CUS-Plane) and the Management-plane (M-Plane). WG4’s objective is to provide open fronthaul interfaces, in which interoperability between Distributed Unit (DU) and Radio Unit (RU) from multiple vendors can be achieved. To add independent peer-review, Auray OTIC and Security Lab obtained TAF ISO/IEC 17025 approval for O-RAN test results and follows ISO/IEC 17065.