This year marked the debut of the World’s first Open Testing and Integration Centres (OTIC) Summit. Recently hosted in Singapore, the summit aimed to strengthen the collaboration among open testing and integration centers and members of the global Open RAN ecosystem.

Keysight Technologies partnered with the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), in collaboration with O-RAN ALLIANCE, to co-organize the inaugural Global Open Testing and Integration Centers (OTIC) Summit on August 23-24.

OTIC Summit’s key-deliverables

The summit’s goal was to promote cooperation among OTICs and expedite the advancement and acceptance of O-RAN solutions by exchanging visions, roadmaps, plans, and best practices. More than 190 participants from 12 countries representing network operators, government agencies, vendors, lab operators, academia, and O-RAN ALLIANCE leadership team attended the event.

High-quality O-RAN Certificates and Badges needed

During the summit, Keysight played a role in organizing a workshop where major operators shared their thoughts on OTICs, O-RAN Certification, and Badging. One of the main takeaways from this discussion was the importance of having top-notch certificates and badges that consistently deliver reliable test results. This helps operators feel assured that O-RAN network functions are following O-RAN standards and can work seamlessly with various vendors.

“The first Global OTIC Summit in Singapore marked a watershed moment in collaboration, uniting OTICs for the first time. This summit not only provided a unique platform for the exchange of knowledge, insights, and best practices but also, with Keysight’s invaluable support, showcased the forefront of technology with Singapore’s FCCLab emphasizing its O-RAN R&D and testing process.”

Dr. Alex Choi, Chairman, O-RAN ALLIANCE and SVP Group Technology, Deutsche Telekom

5G and O-RAN security prioritized

Also on the summit’s buffet table was Keysight’s 5G and Open RAN test solution portfolio, which, in collaboration with various partners, helped demonstrate vendor solutions maturity and deployment readiness. The following major findings were elucidated after the summit concluded.

  • 5G and O-RAN Security – Keysight’s Security Test Suite was used to perform automated 3GPP Security Assurance Specification (SCAS) testing and reporting with Quanta Cloud Technology’s commercial gNodeB.
  • O-RAN Energy Consumption – Keysight’s Energy Plane Test Suite was used to perform automated energy consumption measurements and characterization of LITEON’s O-RAN Radio Unit (O-RU), leveraging ETSI standardized methodology and reporting, RAN energy consumption measurements, and characterization.
  • O-RAN RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) – Keysight’s RIC Test Suite was used to perform closed-loop automated verification of Juniper Network’s RIC, including the AI/ML-enabled RAN Admissions Control xApps/rApps.
  • 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) – Keysight’s End-to-End (E2E) NTN test bed was used to demonstrate 3GPP Release 17 NTN NR technology in a live-to-lab setup where an entire NTN communications network was emulated with Keysight’s UE emulator (UeSIM), channel emulator (PROPSIM), and base station emulator (UXM). Each of these Keysight products can be used for testing the NTN base stations and NTN devices separately.

Facilitating O-RAN technology

O-RAN ALLIANCE has given the green light to 15 OTICs worldwide. These centers aim to use their advanced lab testing facilities and knowledge to speed up the adoption and commercial rollout of Open RAN technology. Among these centers, SUTD oversees the Asia & Pacific OTIC in Singapore, while the rest are situated in different parts of Asia, Europe, and the United States.

“This summit was a great opportunity to showcase Keysight’s 5G and Open RAN test solution portfolio in collaboration with our partners. The successful demonstrations strengthen Keysight’s position at the forefront of Open RAN technology adoption and commercial deployment.”

Jun Chie, V P, and G M  for Keysight’s Asia Pacific Sales

Event highlights

All in all, the event presented a unique first-time opportunity for industry members to meet with multiple OTIC hosts in one single venue in Singapore. Along with technology demos, wherein visitors were treated to seeing Singapore’s Future Communications Connectivity Lab (FCCLab), featuring O-RAN R&D and testing capability.

Furthermore, this summit marked the beginning of a recurring roundtable for OTIC hosts and industry leaders, where they get to share their visions, plans, encountered challenges, best practices, solutions, and much more. The final driving force behind this powwow was to empower key industry players to accelerate innovation and adoption of O-RAN solutions.