Rohde & Schwarz & Viavi expand partnership for O-RAN & NTN

Rohde & Schwarz and Viavi Solutions have announced an expansion of their partnership to develop Open RAN and Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) solutions. The companies aim to address critical test requirements based on new 3GPP and O-RAN specifications while enhancing network energy efficiency and scaling network testing capabilities.

Open RAN (O-RAN) has gained significant traction with several major deployment announcements by Tier-1 service providers. As a result, the need for subsystem and end-to-end conformance, performance, and interoperability testing has grown considerably. To address this, Rohde & Schwarz and Viavi Solutions have created a fully automated testbed to verify O-RU energy efficiency. This solution includes the Rohde & Schwarz RTO6 oscilloscope and NGP800 power supply, along with the Viavi TM500 O-RU Tester. Together, they enable the emulation, synchronisation, and configuration of O-RUs while offering high measurement resolution and accuracy over a long period.

In addition to improving energy efficiency, the partnership is also focused on test scalability as O-RAN radios move to commercial deployment. The companies have developed the Rohde & Schwarz PVT360A, a compact, single-box vector signal analyser and generator. This combines with the Viavi TM500 O-RU Tester to form a cost-effective and straightforward setup that caters to R&D teams needing multiple test lines to speed up time to market.

The collaboration has also extended into Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), which involve satellite operators, mobile network operators, equipment vendors, and end-user application providers. To support various use cases, the companies have developed an NTN digital twin testbed covering Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and Geosynchronous Orbit (GEO). This testbed aims to validate end-to-end connectivity, measure Quality of Service (QoS) over large coverage areas, and assess end-user application performance, especially under conditions involving the mobility of satellites and user equipment (UE).

The NTN testbed comprises several components, including the Rohde & Schwarz CMX500 mobile communication network tester with channel emulation and fading capabilities, the Viavi TM500-AS2 for complete support of the 3GPP protocol, and the Viavi TeraVM Real Data Applications (RDA) engine, which allows for testing system performance under varying conditions.

Alexander Pabst, Vice President of Market Segment Wireless Communications at Rohde & Schwarz, commented, "It feels great to work with experts. Combining our market-leading products to create solutions that address our customers' problems in smart ways. Energy efficiency tests hit the nerve of the industry, and our smaller footprint setup meets the needs of new segments that are emerging. Furthermore, I am extremely pleased to see our collaboration expanding into space with the most compact digital twin solution for NTN."

Ian Langley, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Business Unit at Viavi, added, "Since we introduced joint O-RU conformance testing, Rohde & Schwarz and Viavi have been delivering on our vision of a best-of-breed approach with a unified customer experience. We are pleased to expand our partnership into new areas of demand, as O-RAN equipment enters commercial deployment and evolves, and the industry incorporates NTN to augment coverage in mobile communications."