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

SANTA ROSA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS), a leading technology company that provides advanced design and validation solutions to help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world, announced that Keysight solutions Open Radio Access Network Architect (KORA) enabled MICAS to obtain one of the first O-RAN certifications for its 5G Open RAN Radio Unit (O-RU). O-RAN compliance certification was issued by OTIC Asia and Pacific in PRC (APOP).

MICAS Group President, former CEO of ASTRI, Mr. Hugh Chow, said: “MICAS O-RU has been awarded one of the first O-RAN certificates, thanks to Keysight’s mature O-RU test solution. and professional technical support. MICAS is a world-class independent design house, providing signal chain reference solutions that include state-of-the-art O-RU (FR1 and FR2) reference designs. We provide signal chain solutions with flexible options to vertical industries by leveraging our modular software and hardware. We look forward to maintaining a close partnership with Keysight as we jointly deliver solutions for the vertical industries’ connectivity fabric. »

Earlier this year, the O-RAN ALLIANCE launched its certification and badging program in cooperation with the Open Testing and Integration Centers (OTIC). O-RAN certificates indicate that a piece of equipment or function conforms to O-RAN specifications, while O-RAN badges confirm the interoperability or end-to-end functionality of an O-RAN solution. O-RAN certificates and badges are issued by OTICs, which provide a collaborative, open and unbiased working environment to ensure consistency and quality in the testing of O-RAN products and solutions.

“The O-RAN Certification and Badging Program is designed to provide confidence by ensuring the interoperability and compliance 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 taking this next step. We look 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, CAE Academician and President of the ZGC Institute of Innovation and Applications Ubiquitous-X, said, “Among the first OTICs approved by O-RAN, and as the only OTIC in mainland China, APOP focuses on advanced ICT research and the promotion of productization. 5G O-RAN solutions. As an independent third-party testing facility under O-RAN ALLIANCE principles, it aims to provide open, fair and robust testing environments for vendors. Successful testing and first certificate issued with MICAS and Keysight reflect APOP’s commitment.

KORA is a comprehensive suite of O-RAN test solutions that spans from early pre-silicon development to system integration. This enables O-RAN vendors, mobile operators, service providers, system integrators and OTICs to verify compliance, interoperability, performance and security across the entire lifecycle of the network through 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 compliance with O-RAN WG4 Open Fronthaul (OFH) Control, User, Synchronization and Management (MUHC) aircraft technical specifications,” said Cao Peng, vice president and general manager of Keysight’s wireless test group. “Keysight is delighted to partner with MICAS and APOP to achieve this important milestone. We congratulate them for achieving one of the first O-RAN certifications for their 5G O-RU.

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

• Keysight is the primary publisher and contributor of the O-RAN ALLIANCE WG4 conformance test specification used for O-RU certification testing. Keysight is also a key contributor to the O-RAN ALLIANCE Test and Integration Focus Group (TIFG) certification and badging process document used for the O-RU certification process.

• Keysight’s O-RAN O-RU certification test suite includes O-DU Emulation (Open RAN Studio), Vector Transceiver (M9410A VXT PXI Vector Transceiver), and Transport Network Degradation Solution ( Network Emulator 3). These solutions were used for O-RAN compliance and certification testing of MICAS’ 5G O-RU open fronthaul control, user, synchronization and management plane implementation. The company’s test automation software (P7000A Base Station Measurement Automation) can be used to automate the testing process for O-RAN certification and test report generation. The company’s radio frequency (RF) signal analyzer and signal generator (UXA signal analyzer, VXG signal generator) can be used instead of its vector transceiver.

• Keysight Test as a Service: Enables partners to stay ahead of the latest compliance requirements by meeting the challenges of increasing testing complexity, budget constraints, and limited technical resources.

Keysight offers deep technical expertise and a comprehensive suite of O-RAN testing solutions. This enables the O-RAN ecosystem to accelerate the development and deployment of O-RAN compliant products supporting open standard interfaces, Xhaul transport, O-Cloud, intelligent RAN controller (RIC) and RIC assisted by artificial intelligence / machine learning (AI/ML). apps.

Earlier this year, Keysight participated in the O-RAN Spring PlugFest 2022 with a wide range of test solutions that are part of the Keysight Open Radio Access Network Architect (KORA) portfolio and enable the open RAN ecosystem to validate, integrate and effectively deploy fully interoperable RAN equipment.

About Keysight Technologies

Keysight provides advanced design and validation solutions that help accelerate innovation to connect and secure the world. Keysight’s commitment to speed and accuracy extends to software insights and analytics that bring tomorrow’s technology products to market faster throughout the development lifecycle, in design simulation, validation prototypes, automated software testing, manufacturing analysis, and network performance optimization and visibility in enterprise, service provider, and cloud environments. Our customers span global markets in communications and industrial ecosystems, aerospace and defense, automotive, energy, semiconductors and general electronics. Keysight generated $4.9 billion in revenue in fiscal 2021. For more information about Keysight Technologies (NYSE: KEYS), visit us at www.keysight.com.

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