Test and Measurement: Northeastern’s OTIC up and running

Northeastern University’s Open6G OTIC, which is among a cohort of Open Testing and Integration Centers (OTICs) certified by O-RAN Alliance last year, announced this week that its testing and integration capabilities are open for business, touting the facility as a “one-stop shop for Open RAN innovation.”

The facility’s test solutions for Open RAN include conformance, interoperability and end-to-end testing, based on O-RAN Alliance specs. The Open6G OTIC also supports testing for the priorities laid out in the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF) notice of funding opportunity (known as NOFO 2) put out by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

“We are happy to announce that the Northeastern Open6G OTIC is open for business and can support leading Open RAN vendors in their radio and performance testing and integration efforts,” said Tommaso Melodia, director of WIoT at Northeastern University. “In collaboration with our partners, we provide a unique environment for innovation and testing that supports industry, the federal government, and academia toward deploying open, programmable, and AI-native networks.”

The facility is home to the largest wireless network emulator in the world, Colosseum, and it also has RAN and RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) emulators and testers, private 5G RANs with programmable protocol stacks and can evaluate network energy efficiency and massive MIMO radios as well as various RAN implementations and comprehensive compliance, performance, interoperability and functional testing.

The Open6G OTIC said that it is using an end-to-end testing suite that is based on Keysight Technologies’ Open RAN Architect (KORA) network emulation and 5G multi-band vector transceiver base station RF test solutions, orchestrated through Keysight’s Atlas Test Management Center.

“This partnership underscores Keysight’s commitment to fostering O-RAN innovation and supporting industry and academia institutions such as Northeastern University to advance the Open RAN ecosystem with our world-class test solutions,” says Peng Cao, Vice President and General Manager at Keysight’s Wireless Test Group. “As an industry leader, we are pleased to contribute to Northeastern Open6G OTIC’s efforts in accelerating the Open RAN ecosystem by ensuring the reliability and performance of next-generation wireless networks.”

In other test news:

–Rohde & Schwarz introduced its first oscilloscope series that has no integrated display, in order to keep the instrument to a compact size. The MXO 5 series oscilloscope/digitizer is 2U high (3.5 inches) and tailored for rack-mount or other applications “where a low-profile form factor is critical,” the test company said. The instruments in the MXO 5 series have four or eight channels and up to 2 GHz of bandwidth.

–Calix has introduced a new feature for on-demand optical network terminal (ONT) speed and latency testing on Wi-Fi gateways, as part of its Calix Broadband Platform. The ability to run quick and simple tests will help customer service agents identify home equipment issues versus network issues and verify network performance for retail internet service provider customers, the company said, adding, “The newly supported on-demand ONT speed and latency testing capability gives [broadband service providers] more visibility into the quality of service they provide so they can continue to prove the value of their offerings.”

-Test and measurement equipment company Tevet has put together a strategic partnership with aerospace and defense giant Raytheon through the Department of Defense’s Mentor-Protégé Program. The partnership is focused on advancing capabilities in radar, electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) and radio communications systems through the use of Tevet’s Liberty platform for real-time testing using software-defined capabilities.

-Emirati-based operator e& UAE claimed a record speed of 30.5 Gbps on its live 5G network, which, according to the carrier, represents a significant milestone in its evolution towards 5G-Advanced technology. More details here.