Viavi Solutions and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) have teamed up to expand Viavi's Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR). This collaboration, supported by a USD 21.7 million grant from the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF), aims to streamline the certification process for Open RAN technologies, the company announced this week.
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Viavi Solutions and TIP Collaboration
TIP, a global consortium dedicated to advancing open and disaggregated networks, will integrate VALOR's automated testing capabilities into its certification framework. With this collaboration, VALOR becomes TIP's first authorised test lab, poised to enhance interoperability, performance, and security assessments for Open RAN components, Viavi said.
Kristian Toivo, Executive Director of TIP, emphasised that this collaboration ensures Open RAN systems meet rigorous performance standards critical for maintaining service quality and reducing downtime in real-world network scenarios.
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Open RAN Deployment and Performance
Sameh Yamany, Chief Technology Officer at Viavi, commented, "The collaboration between Viavi and TIP enhances Open RAN system maturity by addressing multi-vendor deployment challenges and ensuring end-to-end system-level performance testing across different vendors. Viavi's participation in TIP's OpenRAN PG and Test and Validation Committee supports the development of industry-wide test plans globally."
"VALOR supports comprehensive end-to-end testing to verify performance, stability, and security under real-world conditions. Additionally, this initiative aims to reduce market fragmentation, create supply chain efficiencies, and build marketplace confidence through standardised testing and certification processes," he added.
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The partnership between Viavi and TIP signifies a significant advancement in accelerating the global adoption of Open RAN technologies, providing operators with more flexible and high-performance network solutions, the joint statement said.