VIAVI Highlights 6G, AI, O-RAN, and NTN at IEEE ICC

VIAVI announced that it will be presenting research, solutions and perspectives on next-generation networking technologies including 6G, AI, Open RAN (O-RAN) and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) at the IEEE International Communications Conference, in Denver, Colorado. The company will also showcase the VIAVI Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR™).

6G

Full AI neural network transmission. Showcasing VIAVI’s proprietary complete neural network (NN) receiver in a downlink scenario, utilizing 5G-NR compliant OFDM signal (PDSCH) transmission and reception on a custom-built testbed.

• MIMO Delay-Doppler Domain waveform. Orthogonal Time Frequency Space (OTFS) is a modulation technique designed to combat the challenges posed by wireless channels’ delay and Doppler shift characteristics. VIAVI will demonstrate OTFS’s performance in multi-antenna transmission using a VIAVI proprietary simplified precoder solution and compare it with OFDM.
• Rate-splitting multiple access in an overloaded network. This demonstration will showcase a VIAVI proprietary technique in the Rate Splitting Multiple Access (RSMA) scheme, designed to mitigate multi-user interference in overloaded networks where transmitter antennas are fewer than the users.

High-Fidelity Digital Twin

VIAVI is collaborating with the Institute for Wireless Internet of Things and the Open6G cooperative research center at Northeastern University on large-scale RF propagation channel modeling based on AI and ML technologies to develop a city-scale digital twin of a 6G network. VIAVI and Northeastern will demonstrate:

• Use of AI/ML to augment ray tracing for radio frequency (RF) propagation modeling to drive the digital twin
• Conducting real-world measurement campaigns in the Northeastern Boston campus using the VIAVI Ranger rugged RF capture and playback instrument 
• Incorporating higher-layer KPIs in the digital twin, to more effectively model effects of network conditions on application performance.

Open RAN and NTN

• VALOR. VALOR, made possible by a $21.7 million grant from the U.S. NTIA Public Wirelesss Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF), provides fully automated, open and impartial testing and integration for Open RAN. VALOR provides a pathway to certification in the U.S. for new entrants, startups and academia. Access to VALOR is free for academic institutions and NTIA co-grantees, subject to availability.
• NTN. VIAVI and Rohde & Schwarz will jointly demonstrate an end-to-end NTN-NR testbed for the lab, evaluating end-to-end user app performance over NTN links.
• RIC Test. An energy-saving rApp integrated with a Non-RT RIC will be demonstrated with the VIAVI TeraVM RIC Test. This rApp uses intelligent procedures based on ML to optimize cell control, achieving significant energy savings without compromising service quality in realistic scenarios.
• O-RAN Security Test. O-DU/O-CU security will be validated using the VIAVI O-RAN Security Suite.