Viavi Solutions. (VIAVI) announced it has selected ETS-Lindgren to provide an RF-shielded anechoic chamber to support Massive MIMO over-the-air (OTA) performance testing of Open Radio Units (O-RUs) at the VIAVI Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR™). This testing is ideally suited to the needs of radio manufacturers planning to bid for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF) Second Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO 2), which focuses on O-RU Commercialization and Innovation.
In traditional lab testing of wireless network equipment, conformance and functionality are validated using electrical cabling between test instruments and the device under test (DUT). OTA testing represents an advancement in which the DUT is placed in a completely sealed chamber with free space vacuum to shield the environment from outside interference, and then connected to test instruments with wireless signals to further emulate real-world scenarios.
The chamber enables VALOR to offer Massive MIMO and beamforming OTA validation including system-level Massive MIMO performance testing for up to 16 parallel spatial layers. For radio manufacturers, VALOR provides an on-demand test suite including O-RU conformance, performance, security and interoperability testing. The lab includes a full set of golden O-RAN compliant O-RUs, O-DUs and O-CUs provided by several reputable partners.
VALOR, made possible by a $21.7 million grant from the first PWSCIF Notice of Funding Opportunity, 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.
ETS-Lindgren is the world leader for wireless OTA performance testing of wireless subscriber devices and in the development of significant intellectual property in wireless OTA measurement. The company helped develop the industry’s first OTA measurement plan, and pioneered the world’s first CTIA Authorized Test Lab for mobile station OTA performance testing. ETS-Lindgren’s facilities and expertise complements VIAVI’s Open RAN Test Suite especially in the areas of OTA testing of O-RUs and end-to-end testing of the entire Open RAN base station.
“In order to truly accelerate O-RU commercialization and innovation, VALOR is advancing testing and certification beyond legacy methodologies,” said Dr. Sameh Yamany, Chief Technology Officer, VIAVI. “OTA testing is the latest move forward, building on the groundbreaking foundation of a fully automated, cooperative, open and impartial Lab-as-a-Service offering dedicated to Open RAN interoperability, performance and security. We are pleased to be working with ETS-Lindgren as a fellow industry leader.”
“We are proud to support the VIAVI team with this state-of-the-art facility enabling OTA testing of base stations. The recent evolution in base stations and their testing has been tremendous. We look forward to seeing the further innovation enabled by this OTA testing facility,” said Andy Warner, President, ETS-Lindgren.
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