O-RAN PlugFest aims to foster and prove the universal compatibility concept by testing products and solutions from different vendors within mobile networks designed to O-RAN Alliance’s specifications. A major event featuring O-RAN member vendors, integrators, software developers, test equipment suppliers, and service providers, PlugFest will have seven venues, including Skoltech’s OpenRAN-Lab, and reach out to three continents: Asia, Europe, and North America.
For Russia, hosting O-RAN PlugFest is a first. The host selection results were made public on July 15 after a careful assessment of the candidate countries. Selecting the Skoltech testing site is testimony to the trustworthiness of Russian OpenRAN products and extensive expertise of the OpenRAN-Lab founded by the Skoltech-based NTI Center of Excellence in Wireless Technology and Internet of Things (NTI CoE).
During the event, Skoltech’s OpenRAN-Lab will focus on the Radio Access Network (RAN) components and integration testing of base station modules from different vendors. Also, the Russian site will host a contest to identify the best setups − integrated assemblies for RAN solutions − in several categories, with emphasis on the universal compatibility concept, as a major strength of the OpenRAN ecosystem.
Registration for O-RAN PlugFest is open until August 13, 2021. Skoltech has already received the first request to test the channel coding accelerator from the University of Southampton (UK).
The testing of vendor products and services will continue until October 31, 2021.
Dmitry Lakontsev, Head of NTI CoE: “Open architecture will shape the future of mobile technologies. Proprietary networks are slowly losing ground and giving way to a burgeoning ecosystem of open-standard solutions and new international collaborations in the telecommunications industry.
Events like O-RAN PlugFest give momentum to the global OpenRAN market and consolidate the emerging industry around openness and compatibility. This is an excellent opportunity for our Center to expand its international network. The fact that Skoltech was selected as a testing site proves that Russia has been recognized as an important player by the new industry.
We joined the open solutions initiative when our NTI CoE started building its OpenRAN and 4/5G lab two years ago. The two key breakthrough technologies, Open architecture and 5G, are the pillars of the future Russian telecommunications industry. Right now, we are presented with a historic opportunity to step into the international telecom hardware market, and I dare say that without OpenRAN and 5G, Russian manufacturers will have no chance of success on the global scene.
We closely collaborate with O-RAN Alliance and Telecom Infra Project, two international organizations that bring together the players of the open solutions market. PlugFest helps us reach out to the global community of hardware designers and manufacturers.”
NTI Center of Excellence in Wireless Technology and Internet of Things (NTI CoE)
The Skoltech-based NTI CoE assists Russian businesses and state corporations in overcoming technology barriers and creating globally competitive products and services in advanced technology areas, such as the Internet of Things, 5G/6G, industrial IoT (IIoT), and industrial data processing.
O-RAN Alliance
Created by the world’s largest mobile operators in 2018, O-RAN Alliance is a non-profit organization that develops a family of open standards for the next generation Radio Access Networks (RAN) based on network virtualization, open-architecture hardware platforms, and standardized RAN interfaces, ensuring multi-vendor hardware and software compatibility.
Contact information:
Skoltech Communications
+7 (495) 280 14 81
