The O-RAN ALLIANCE this week announced its continued progress towards making the Radio Access Networks (RAN) truly open, intelligent, virtualized and fully interoperable.
On June 21, 2020, working with the Linux Foundation, the O-RAN SW Community published its second SW release, dubbed 'Bronze.' The 2nd release of O-RAN software 'Bronze' adds support for new key elements of the O-RAN architecture and updates aligned with the latest O-RAN specifications;
- The initial release of an A1 policy manager and an A1 controller that implements the Non-Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC) architecture.
- The Near-Real-Time RIC updated to current O-RAN E2 and A1 specifications with 5 sample xAPPs.Initial O-CU and O-DU Low/High code contributions that support a FAPI framework and integration between the O-DU and RIC with E2 functionality and subscription support.
- A Traffic Steering and Quality Prediction use case leveraging an E2 interface data ingest pipeline to demonstrate the functionality of RAN traffic steering with an E2 interface KPI monitoring capability.
- OAM use cases that exercise Health Check call flows including the Near-RT RIC and its O1 and A1 interfaces.The O-RAN Software Community has been open to any participants that want to get involved in the creation of software for future RAN.
The O-RAN ALLIANCE also welcomes TELUS Communications and U.S. Cellular as new operator members, bringing the total to 26 major carriers.
Andre Fuetsch, Chairman of the O-RAN Alliance and CTO, Network Services, AT&T
The new use cases, the Bronze software release, and the new O-RAN ALLIANCE members are indications that this global forum is working exactly as intended, reaching across borders to drive innovation and build consensus.
Chih-Lin I, the Co-Chair of O-RAN Technical Steering Committee
Specific progress related to both the Non-RT-RIC and the Near-RT-RIC frameworks and associated key interfaces deserves special mention for its importance in enabling AI/ML capabilities in RAN. The O-RAN virtual showcase further demonstrates the growing momentum towards global adoption and deployment of O-RAN solutions.
