Keysight Enables MICAS to Obtain One of the First O-RAN Certifications for Open RAN Radio Unit

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Keysight Technologies, Inc., a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, announced that the Keysight Open Radio Access Network Architect (KORA) solutions enabled MICAS to obtain one of the first O-RAN certifications for its 5G Open RAN Radio Unit (O-RU). The O-RAN Conformance Certification was issued by the Asia & Pacific OTIC in PRC (APOP).

MICAS Group Chairman, former CEO of ASTRI, Mr. Hugh Chow, said, “The MICAS O-RU has been awarded one of the first O-RAN certificates, thanks to Keysight's mature O-RU testing solution and professional technical support. MICAS is a world class Independent Design House, providing signal chain reference solutions that include cutting-edge O-RU (FR1 and FR2) reference designs. We offer signal chain solutions with flexible options to the vertical industries leveraging our modular software and hardware. We look forward to maintaining a close partnership with Keysight as we jointly deliver solutions for the verticals industries connectivity fabric.”

Earlier this year, the O-RAN ALLIANCE launched its Certification and Badging program in cooperation with Open Testing and Integration Centers (OTIC). O-RAN certificates state that an equipment or function is conformant to O-RAN specifications, whereas the O-RAN badges confirm interoperability or end-to-end functionality of an O-RAN solution. O-RAN certificates and badges are issued by the OTICs, which provide collaborative, open and impartial working environment to ensure consistency and quality of testing of O-RAN products and solutions.

“The O-RAN Certification and Badging program is designed to provide confidence in ensuring the interoperability and conformance of O-RAN products,” said Dr. Chih-Lin I, co-chair of the O-RAN Technical Steering Committee, O-RAN ALLIANCE. “Congratulations to MICAS, Keysight and APOP for achieving this new milestone. We are looking forward to issuing additional certificates and badges to other ecosystem partners in the very near future, which will help accelerate the availability of O-RAN technologies and solutions for global deployment.”

Zhang Ping, Academician of CAE and president of the ZGC Institute of Ubiquitous-X Innovation and Applications, said, “Among the first O-RAN approved OTICs, and as the only OTIC in China mainland, APOP focuses on advanced ICT research and promoting productization of 5G O-RAN solutions.” As a third-party independent testing facility in line with O-RAN ALLIANCE principles, it aims to provide open, fair and robust testing environments for vendors. The successful testing and the first certificate issued with MICAS and Keysight reflects APOP’s commitment.

KORA is a comprehensive suite of O-RAN test solutions that span early pre-silicon development to system integration. This enables O-RAN vendors, mobile operators, service providers, system integrators and OTICs to verify conformance, interoperability, performance and security across the entire network lifecycle with test automation that accelerates the development, certification, badging, integration and deployment of O-RAN compliant networks.

“O-RAN certification requires extensive testing of 31 test cases that are verified to ensure conformance to O-RAN WG4 Open Fronthaul (OFH) Control, User, Synchronization and Management (CUSM) planes technical specifications,” said Cao Peng, vice president and general manager of Keysight's Wireless Test Group. “Keysight is pleased to collaborate with MICAS and APOP in reaching this significant milestone. We congratulate them for achieving one of the first O-RAN Certifications for its 5G O-RU.”

Keysight’s unique, in-depth expertise, conformance and certification test solutions and Test as a Service (TaaS) were leveraged to perform extensive verification of MICAS’s 5G O-RU compliance to O-RAN ALLIANCE work group (WG4) open fronthaul interface specifications and complete the testing required for O-RAN O-RU certification. The O-RAN WG4 conformance test specification was used for control, user, synchronization, and management planes conformance and certification testing.