NEC Radio Unit Receives First O-RAN Compliance Certification from JAPAN OTIC

Estimated reading time: 1 minute

NEC Corporation has obtained O-RAN Certification from Japan OTIC (Open Testing & Integration Centres) for its MB5450 5G base station radio unit (RU), certifying that the RU conforms with the O-RAN Fronthaul Interface Specifications established by the Open Radio Access Network Alliance (O-RAN ALLIANCE). This RU has been delivered to new windowRakuten Symphony and is being deployed globally.

This is the first certification issued by Japan OTIC since its establishment, making NEC the first major global vendor to obtain this certification.

Japan OTIC was established in December 2022 by YRP R&D Promotion Committee, NTT DOCOMO, INC., KDDI CORPORATION, SoftBank Corp. and Rakuten Mobile, Inc. at Yokosuka Research Park near Tokyo as a center for testing and certification based on the international standard specifications defined by the O-RAN ALLIANCE. A test environment developed by Japan OTIC and Rakuten Mobile was used for this certification. The certification confirms that NEC's RU conforms to O-RAN specifications and that it has cleared the requirements for performance and interoperability between devices connected to the O-RAN interface.

Sharad Sriwastawa, Acting President of Rakuten Symphony, commented: “Rakuten Symphony is thrilled to celebrate this significant milestone together with NEC and Japan OTIC. This is an example of Japan’s leading role in advancing the global Open RAN ecosystem by nurturing local technology innovation and providing a collaborative, open and impartial testing environment. We look forward to providing NEC’s 5G O-RAN certified products, developed in Japan, to our customers around the world.”

Michio Kiuchi, Corporate EVP and General Manager of the Telecom Service Business Unit, NEC Corporation, commented: “This certification of O-RAN conformance will streamline interoperability testing between base station equipment and shorten the lead time for equipment deployment when introducing this product in a multi-vendor environment, making it easier for mobile network operators to build an open RAN ecosystem."

Going forward, NEC will continue to contribute to the global uptake and development of O-RAN-compliant devices and the revitalization of the open 5G market.