Open Networking Foundation focuses on SD-RAN - Mobile World Live

Open Networking Foundation focuses on SD-RAN

26 AUG 2020

Leading operators and technology companies backed a new Open Networking Foundation (ONF) initiative to develop key software platforms for 4G and 5G open RAN deployments.

ONF stated the SD-RAN project will initially “focus on building an open source, near Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (nRT-RIC)” for open RAN architecture. China Mobile, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom and AT&T are founding members of the project, alongside Facebook, Google, Intel, NTT, Radisys and Sercomm.

The Foundation noted it already has a “working skeleton prototype” of a near real-time micro RIC and aims to commence field tests in early 2021. The RIC is based on an ONOS SDN controller commonly used by global tier-1 operators, it stated.

Earlier in the year, AT&T and Intel highlighted their own work on open RIC platforms.

ONF said its project will feed into the work of the O-RAN Alliance and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP).

AT&T Labs president and CTO Andre Fuetsche tipped the ONF project to “accelerate the transition to an open RAN future”.

Chih-Lin I, chief scientist for wireless technologies at China Mobile, added an open source RIC with support for advanced third-party network applications “will make it possible for operators to optimise resource utilisation and application performance”.

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Diana Goovaerts

Diana is Mobile World Live's US Editor, reporting on infrastructure and spectrum rollouts, regulatory issues, and other carrier news from the US market. Diana came to GSMA from her former role as Editor of Wireless Week and CED Magazine, digital-only...

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