Date: October 31, 2024
Time: 8:30 - 18:30 EST
Location: Virtual Event
Organized by: O-RAN ALLIANCE’s Next Generation Research Group (nGRG)
Admission: Interested public is free to attend online. Registration prior to the event is mandatory.
Dr. Chih-Lin I, China Mobile, China
Prof. Aylin Yener, Ohio State University, USA
6G and beyond systems will rely heavily on ubiquitous wireless connectivity. The ever-increasing demand on wireless resources necessitates finding innovative ways for networked communications for the next generation applications. A recent direction in this realm is semantic communications. This new paradigm diverges from the classical communications in that, instead of requiring to reliably communicating messages sent from the transmitter, the requirement is to recover the meaning of the messages sent. This relaxation renders new design insights and allows for better resource management while ensuring that the goal of the transmission is met. In this talk, we will cover the basics of the semantic communications paradigm and demonstrate recent work that provide resource savings relying on pretrained models as well as new transceiver design architectures for semantic communication networks that are AI-native and are expected to be the building block for 6G and beyond. We will conclude with future directions in this area.
Mr. Anatoly Andrianov, 3GPP SA5 Vice-chair & Nokia, USA
Dr. Chris Dick, Nvidia, USA
Megatrends for 6G wireless include softwarization, virtualization, artificial intelligence, cloudification, the continuing theme of disaggregation and digital twins for designing, optimizing, and operating networks. NVIDIA has been developing hardware and software technologies to enable this ambitious vision for 6G. Technologies that enable the research community, wireless system developers and network operators. This presentation provides an overview of some of the hardware and software stacks NVIDIA has been developing for 5G Advanced and 6G. We provide an overview of NVIDIA platforms and tools that have been developed to assists researchers’ investigation of new concepts that are candidate technologies for 6G. Several examples of how the research community is using these tools will be highlighted. A workflow that takes a researcher from algorithm innovation through to benchmarking on a real-time over-the-air testbed will be described.
Prof. Tony Quek, SUTD, Singapore
The RAN intelligent controller (RIC) is cloud native and a central component of an open and virtualized RAN network. The RIC enables to deployment of machine learning and AI techniques to optimize resources and services in the RAN. Thus, it is an important component that brings intelligence, agility, and programmability to the radio access network. On the other hand, AI-RAN is focusing on transforming the RAN with AI through three perspectives: 1) Using AI to enhance the RAN performance; 2) Building infrastructure where AI and RAN can share information and collaborate; and 3) Enable new AI applications to run on RAN. In this talk, we will share how Open RAN RIC can play a big role to achieve these objectives in AI-RAN. Furthermore, we will also share how Future Communications Research and Development Programme (FCP) is leading in 6G research through our works in Open RAN and AI-RAN.
Dr. Tao Sun, China Mobile, China
With the introduction of the 5G-A deployment and the 6G scenario and requirement
discussion advances in ITU-R and 3GPP, the 6G architecture is one important topic that attract the
industry attention to look at. The mobile network evolves towards a new generation with the
drive of innovation as well as new technologies incorporated from other fields. This talk will give
a view on the 6G architecture high level design that makes the network exhibit as a plateform to
provide services such as computing, AI, sensing etc.
Mr. Javan Erfanian, Veezhen, Canada
Mr. Ivan Seskar, Rutgers University, USA
The FR3 band, operating in the 7–24 GHz range, is a key focus area for 6G due to its abundant spectrum resources. However, efficient utilization of FR3 bands requires advanced dynamic spectrum management (DSM) techniques. This presentation explores the challenges and opportunities associated with DSM in FR3 bands, including propagation characteristics, interference management, and dynamic traffic patterns. The potential of Spectrum Consumption Models (SCMs) for enabling efficient coexistence and resource allocation in the FR3 band is discussed. SCMs, as defined in the IEEE 1900.5.2 standard, offer a framework for devices to declare their spectrum usage needs and negotiate compatibility with existing users, significantly enhancing spectrum utilization and reducing interference within the FR3 band.
Combining AI/ML-based spectrum sensing with SCMs can play a crucial role in DSM. This is illustrated through experimental evaluations of AI/ML spectrum sensing techniques, demonstrating their effectiveness in accurately detecting spectrum usage. Advanced spectrum sensing algorithms enable more precise and adaptive detection of spectrum occupancy, addressing the challenges of dynamic traffic patterns and interference management in next-generation wireless networks. By integrating these techniques with SCMs, devices can make informed decisions about spectrum access, further enhancing efficient spectrum sharing and mitigating interference in 5G and beyond.
Mrs. Michela Bevilacqua, Principal Standardization Researcher, EricssonAB, Sweden
Network evolution and automation to support the 6G vision in 2030 timeframe is a topic of great interest in the telecommunications industry. Ericsson vision is based on a 6G architecture enabling the radio-access network (RAN) and core network (CN) functions to benefit from the evolution of cloudification, IT frameworks, automation, open interfaces, and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML). Let´s focus on technology trends in management and automation area and selected ongoing standardization activities as pioneer on the route towards 6G.
Ms. Nurit Sprecher, Nokia, Israel
O-RAN ALLIANCE was established in early 2018 with the goal of transforming RAN by making it open, cloud-based, and more intelligent. This transformation aims to accelerate innovation, enhance user experience, and maximize the efficiency of RAN deployment.
The near-RT and non-RT RAN Intelligent Controllers (RICs) have been successfully introduced as platforms for AI/ML-powered analytics, SON, and third-party innovation, enabling fit-for-purpose RAN programmability & resources optimization. Industry alignment through standardization and collaborative initiatives continues to accelerate innovation and growth.
As we reach this milestone of mature RAN Intelligent Controller concept and collect feedback from PoCs and early deployments, it is essential to reflect on both achievements and limitations. Additionally, evaluating the potential for added value and identifying key considerations will be essential for unlocking future opportunities.
The speaker will review key accomplishments and current limitations, then explore opportunities with 6G to streamline RAN exposure and programmability, which have the potential to enable greater flexibility for future growth and innovation.
Mr. Gavin Horn, Qualcomm, USA
Mr. Ganesh Harinath, CEO, Fiducia, USA
This presentation will examine how 6G’s transformative capabilities—such as ultra-low latency, massive connectivity, and terahertz spectrum—are set to redefine fan engagement in sports and entertainment. By harnessing 6G’s potential, Generative AI, and immersive technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), we will explore how personalized, real-time fan experiences can be enhanced both in-stadium and remotely. The session will highlight use cases that leverage real-time data processing, AI-driven personalization, and immersive commerce to create dynamic, interactive global fan communities. We’ll discuss how key 6G characteristics like ultra-high speeds, edge computing, holographic communication, and security advancements enable next-generation fan engagement, fostering deeper fan involvement and driving brand engagement.
Prof. Long Le, INRS, Canada
The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) is an intelligent and cloud-based RAN architecture that supports inter-operable, multi-vendor, and artificial intelligence (AI) controlled next-generation wireless access systems. ORAN Alliance has made great progress in defining security requirements, vulnerabilities, threats, and security principles to deal with the larger attack surface facing this promising network paradigm. However, much more research must be done to safeguard the O-RAN in the coming years. Generative AI including transformer and diffusion models, which has achieved tremendous success in the natural language processing and vision applications, is expected to play an important role in the O-RAN research ranging from designs of xApps/rApps to development of security countermeasures. This talk aims to showcase some potentials and related issues of the generative AI in the O-RAN context. In particular, I discuss how the attention techniques of the transformer model can be leveraged to engineer an intrusion detection framework that outperforms other state-of-the-art AIbased solutions. Furthermore, I describe potential threats resulting from employing these emerging generative AI tools in the O-RAN, namely membership inference, adversarial, and backdoor attacks. Finally, I present a backdoor defense strategy developed by our lab for the generative diffusion model.
Prof. Tommaso Melodia, Northeastern University, USA
Mr. Thomas Heyn, Fraunhofer IIS, Germany
The talk will cover the insight in 5G-Advanced and O-RAN to support multiple type of deployments and use cases such as mobile broadband as well as from vertical markets such as industrial automation, automotive connectivity, and even non-terrestrial networks (NTN).
Prof. Florian Kaltenberger, EURECOM, France
We present an open-source implementation of the 3GPP Uplink Time Difference of Arrival (UL-TDoA) positioning method using the OpenAirInterface (OAI) framework. UL-TDoA is a critical positioning technique in 5G networks, leveraging the time differences of signal arrival at multiple base stations to determine the precise location of User Equipment (UE). This implementation aims to democratize access to advanced positioning technology by integrating UL-TDoA capabilities into both the Radio Access Network (RAN) and Core Network (CN) components of OAI, providing a comprehensive and 3GPP-compliant solution.
The development includes the incorporation of essential protocol procedures, message flows, and interfaces as defined by 3GPP standards. Validation is conducted using two distinct methods: an OAI-RF simulator-based setup for controlled testing and an O-RAN-based Localization Testbed at EURECOM in real-world conditions. The results demonstrate the viability of this open-source UL-TDoA implementation, enabling precise positioning in various environments.
We conclude by discussing future directions of localization using AI and ML tools and how the existing platform can be adapted towards 6G systems.
Dr. Alex Choi, AI-RAN Chairman, Softbank, Japan
As the Chair of the AI RAN Alliance, I will present an overview of the alliance’s vision and mission to drive AI-native solutions in Radio Access Networks. This presentation will focus on exploring the synergies between AI RAN Alliance and O-RAN ALLIANCE, highlighting how AI RAN Alliance can complement O-RAN’s open and interoperable frameworks. I will also discuss potential areas of collaboration, aiming to accelerate the adoption of AI technologies in the RAN ecosystem.
Moderator: Dr. Chih-Lin I, China Mobile, China
Panelists:
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Mr. Anatoly Andrianov, Principal Standardization Lead at Nokia, Distinguished member of the Nokia technical staff (DMTS), 3GPP SA5 Vice-chair, O-RAN ALLIANCE WG10 Co-chair, USA
- Extensive (25+ years) experience in Telecom, covering systems engineering, field deployment and optimization, system performance and virtualization, product architecture, standardization and open-source projects.
- Passionate about OAM and Standardization. A long-standing delegate to 3GPP SA5, ETSI ISG NFV, ETSI ISG ZSM, GSMA, ONAP and O-RAN ALLIANCE. The Rapporteur of several 3GPP and O-RAN specifications. A source of knowledge and a visionary with holistic thinking and perspective.
- Two Masters degrees, MS in Telecom EE from MTUCI, MS in Telecom CS from DePaul University and over 60 professional certifications, the most recent ones in Cloud, APIs, AI, ML, Data Science
- 3GPP SA5 Vice-chair; O-RAN Alliance WG10 Co-chair; active participant in multiple SDOs and open-source projects with focus on topics related to Management and Orchestration
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Michela Bevilacqua, Principal Standardization Researcher, Ericsson AB, Sweden
Michela Bevilacqua is a Principal Researcher in Ericsson, working in management, orchestration, and automation area standardization, with specific interests in cloud native deployments and AI/ML.
Michela is an active member in O-RAN Alliance, collaborating also in 3GPP SA5.
With more that 25 years of working in telecommunications, she has overseen several industry transactions. She has a background in multi-domain OSS solutions and in the last years embracing open RAN and open interface evolution.
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Dr. Alex Choi, AI-RAN Chairman, Softbank, Japan
Dr. Alex Jinsung Choi, a South Korean luminary in the global mobile telecommunications sector, boasts over three decades of industry experience. Currently, Dr. Choi is working at SoftBank Corp.’s Research Institute of Advanced Technology and continues to champion innovation at the intersection of AI, mobile technology, and network architecture. He is also currently the Chair of the AI-RAN Alliance. He is dedicated to advancing technology frontiers, crafting strategies that enhance both business and consumer experiences, and guiding the industry towards a more connected, intelligent, and open future.
Previous to his role at SoftBank, he worked for Deutsche Telekom AG as Group CTO for the first 4 years, and then as the leader of T-Labs for about 3 years. He was the founding chair of Telecom Infra Project (TIP) back in 2016-2017 and was the Chair of the O-RAN ALLIANCE in 2022-2024, steering the shift of radio access networks towards more open and intelligent frameworks. His career in leadership began at LG Electronics, where he notably served as the Head of the Mobile Core Technology Lab and the Next Generation Telecommunications Lab from 1998 to 2011. He later joined SK Telecom in South Korea as the CTO and Head of both the Corporate R&D Division and the Technology Strategy Office, where he spearheaded the development of pioneering ICT technologies, including 5G, AI/ML, cloud solutions, Software Defined RAN, and autonomous networks. He earned his MS/Ph.D. in Mobile Networks from the University of Southern California (USC) between 1993 and 1998. Prior to this, he completed a Bachelor of Engineering (BE) in Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Seoul National University from March 1983 to February 1987.
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Dr. Chris Dick is a Senior Distinguished Engineer at NVIDIA, working on the application of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to 5G and 6G wireless. He is part of the team developing new tools and real-time over-the-air testbeds to enable the path from AI/ML simulation flows to real-time operation.
In his 35 years of working in signal processing and communications, he has worked on silicon and software products for 3G, 4G and 5G baseband DSP and Docsis cable access and vector processor architectures. His research encompasses the area of 6G architecture, ML model architecture, channel coding, design flows for GPU signal processing systems and digital front-end (DFE) technology for cellular systems, with a particular emphasis on digital pre-distortion for power amplifier linearization. Chris has also worked extensively on silicon architecture and compilers for machine learning and parallel architectures.
Prior to moving to Silicon Valley in 1998, he was a tenured academic in Melbourne, Australia for 13 years. He has over 250 publications and 100 patents. From 1998 to 2020 he was a Fellow and the DSP Chief Architect at Xilinx.
In 2018 he was awarded the IEEE Communications Society Award for Advances in Communication for research in the area of full-duplex wireless communication.
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Javan has extensive experience with wireless industry, particularly formerly at Bell Canada, and continues to support the industry on 5G-Advanced and path to 6G. He has taught at University of Toronto and works with universities on 6G research. Javan has actively led initiatives or contributed to NGMN, NextG Alliance, O-RAN nGRG, ETSI, and GTI, and was particularly the co-lead and editor of NGMN 6G white papers and operators' manifesto. He was one of the key contributors to the development of ITU-R IMT-2030 framework. Javan has been an IEEE Communications Society distinguished speaker for many years, and recipient of Comsoc millennium medal, and recipient of NGMN lifetime achievement award.
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Ganesh Harinath is the Founder and CEO of Fiducia | AI, Inc., leading innovations in sports tech and fan engagement through immersive technologies and Generative AI. With over 15 years focused on AI-based solutions, including nine years as VP & CTO at Verizon Media where he drove $100M in revenue, Ganesh specializes in developing next-gen solutions that transform the fan experience. His work is setting new standards in digital transformation and personalized fan interaction, both in-stadium and globally.
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Mr. Thomas Heyn, Fraunhofer IIS, Germany
Thomas Heyn received his degree in Electrical Engineering (Dipl.Ing.) from Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen in 1996 and joined Fraunhofer IIS shortly after. He implemented wireless communication standards for satellite and terrestrial applications using Software-Defined Radio platforms and carried out field trials for performance assessments and propagation channel modelling. Since 2001, he is head of the Mobile Communications Group within the Communication Systems Division and since 2015 RAN Plenary delegate. His current research interests include evolutions of 5G-Advanced and 6G, investigating technologies like integrated satellite/terrestrial 3D-networks including split architectures and AI, V2X communication and Network Energy Saving. He was the driver for Fraunhofer to join the O-RAN alliance. Furthermore, Thomas Heyn and his team demonstrate latest 5G standards based on the open-source stack OpenAirInterface, like 5G over satellites and O-RAN split architectures.
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Florian Kaltenberger is an Associate Professor in the Communication Systems department at EURECOM (Biot, France), a visiting professor at Northeastern University (Boston, MA, USA). He is also a special advisor to the board of the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance.
Mr. Kaltenberger received his Diploma degree (Dipl.-Ing.) and his PhD both in Technical Mathematics from the Vienna University of Technology 2002 and 2007 respectively. He joined EURECOM in 2007 and has been working on the open-source project OpenAirInterface ever since then. Today he is coordinating the developments of the OAI radio access network project group, which delivered support for 5G non-standalone access in 2020 and for 5G standalone access in 2021. He also manages several research projects (industrial and academic) around the platform with special focus on massive and distributed multi-antenna systems, positioning and localization as well as non-terrestrial networks.
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Dr. Long Le is a full professor at INRS, University of Quebec. He received his PhD degree from University of Manitoba in 2007. Prior to joining INRS, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2008-2010 and University of Waterloo in 2007-2008. Dr. Le leads the NECPHY-Lab performing research and training in the broad areas of wireless communications, networking, edge/cloud computing, and cyber-security. Dr. Le is the co-authors of 2 books and more than 240 articles, mostly published on top IEEE journals and conferences. He has served as an editor for different journals including IEEE Transactions on Communications (2022- present), IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking (2021-present), IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, IEEE Wireless Communications Letters, and IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials. He has served in the organization committees for different conferences including IEEE WCNC, IEEE VTC, and IEEE PIMRC. Dr. Le is an IEEE Fellow.
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Prof. Tommaso Melodia, Northeastern University, USA
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TonyQ.S. Quek received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineeringfrom Tokyo Institute of Technology, respectively. At Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology, he earned the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.Currently, he is the Cheng Tsang Man Chair Professor with Singapore Universityof Technology and Design (SUTD) and ST Engineering Distinguished Professor. Healso serves as the Director of the Future Communications R\&D Programme,the Head of ISTD Pillar, and the AI on RAN Working Group Chair in AI-RANAlliance. His current research topics include wireless communications andnetworking, network intelligence, non-terrestrial networks, open radio accessnetwork, and 6G.Dr. Quek is currently serving as an Area Editor for the IEEETransactions on Wireless Communications. He was an Executive EditorialCommittee Member of the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, an Editorof the IEEE Transactions on Communications, and an Editor of the IEEE WirelessCommunications Letters. He received the 2008 Philip Yeo Prize for OutstandingAchievement in Research, the 2012 IEEE William R. Bennett Prize, the 2016 IEEESignal Processing Society Young Author Best Paper Award, the 2017 CTTC EarlyAchievement Award, the 2017 IEEE ComSoc AP Outstanding Paper Award, the 2020IEEE Communications Society Young Author Best Paper Award, the 2020IEEE StephenO. Rice Prize, the 2020 Nokia Visiting Professorship, the 2022 IEEE Signal ProcessingSociety Best Paper Award, and the 2024 IIT Bombay International Award For Excellencein Research in Engineering and Technology. He is an IEEE Fellow, a WWRF Fellow,and a Fellow of the Academy of Engineering Singapore.
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IvanSeskar is the Chief Technologist and Director/IT at WINLAB, Rutgers Universityresponsible for experimental systems and prototyping projects. He is currentlythe program director for the COSMOS project responsible for the New York CityNSF PAWR deployment. He has also been the co-PI and project manager for allthree phases of the NSF-supported ORBIT mid-scale testbed project at WINLAB,successfully leading technology development and operations since the testbedwas released as a community resource in 2005 and for which the team receivedthe 2008 NSF Alexander Schwarzkopf Prize for Technological Innovation. Ivan isa co-chair of the IEEE Future Networks Testbed Working Group, member of theIEEE Standardization Programs Development Board and the co-founder and CTO ofUpside Wireless Inc.
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Ms. Nurit Sprecher, Nokia, Israel
ETSI Fellow, a technology visionary and strategist with 30 years’ global telecommunications industry experience. Nurit is the head of network and service automation in Nokia Standards and a distinguished member of the Nokia technical committee.
Nurit initiated and drove the industry effort to set up the ETSI ISG MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) and successfully chaired the ISG during its first two-year term. Nurit played an instrumental role in the creation of the ETSI ISG ZSM (Zero-touch network and Service Management) and serves as the vice chair of the group.
Nurit has spent many years working as an expert system architect and technologist, defining the carrier-grade network and service architecture evolution and system design.
Nurit has contributed to many projects carried out in ETSI, O-RAN ALLIANCE, GSMA, IETF, ITU-T, IEEE and BBF and has participated in core discussions on the Next Generation Network with Tier-1 carriers and a number of governments. She has spoken at many conferences and is a contributing author to numerous publications.
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Dr. Tao Sun is the Chief Expert of China Mobile Group. He obtained B.S. and Ph.D degree
both from Tsinghua University in 2003 and 2008. Since 2008, he joined China Mobile Research
Institute and work on network architecture evolution and standard. He is the coordinator of
China Mobile 3GPP SA/CT groups. He acted as rapporteur on several 3GPP work items such as:
Next generation Architecture Study, 5G System Architecture, etc. He is the 3GPP SA2 Vice Chair
(2019-2023). He is the lead of network architecture subgroup IMT-2030(6G) Promotion Group.
He also act as the Editor of NGMN “Network Architecture Evolution” white paper.
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Aylin Yener is the Roy and Lois Chope Endowed Chair in Engineering at The Ohio State University since 2020, and a professor at the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, and Integrated Systems Engineering. Prior to this, she was a Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering and Dean’s Fellow at Penn State, where she joined in 2002 as an assistant professor. In 2008-2009, she was a visiting associate professor in the electrical engineering department at Stanford University, CA and in 2016-2017 she was a visiting professor in the same department. She also held a visiting appointment at Telecom Paris Tech in Paris, France in 2016. She received her PhD and MS degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Wireless Information Networks Lab (WINLAB), Rutgers University, and her BS degrees in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and in Physics from Bogazici University. Her expertise is in wireless communications, information theory, and AI, with recent focus on various pillars of 6G including new advances in physical layer designs, semantic communications, edge learning/computing/AI, system design for confluence of sensing, communications, distributed learning, energy conscious networked systems, and security and privacy. Yener received the 2020 IEEE Communication Theory Technical Achievement Award, 2019 IEEE Communications Society Best Tutorial Paper Award, 2018 IEEE Women in Communications Engineering (WICE) Outstanding Achievement Award, 2014 IEEE Marconi Paper Award, and several other research and technical awards. She is a fellow of the IEEE and a member of the Science Academy of Turkey.
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