Advancing RAN Performance: O-RAN ALLIANCE Participants Showcase Innovative Solutions at MWC Barcelona 2025
O-RAN ALLIANCE Announces Global PlugFest Spring 2025 to Further Accelerate the Maturity of O-RAN Products and Solutions
O-RAN ALLIANCE participants will showcase 33 open and intelligent Radio Access Networks (RAN) solutions throughout MWC Barcelona 2025 and at the O-RAN Virtual Exhibition.
Since July 2024, O-RAN Work Groups and Focus Groups published 74 technical documents, bringing the total to 125 titles in current version and 703 documents overall. Seven documents represent new titles.
This white paper explores advanced strategies to enhance energy efficiency in O-RAN based networks, building on existing techniques such as Cell and Carrier Shutdown and RF Channel Reconfiguration. It introduces innovative approaches for optimizing power consumption in key network elements, including Radio Units (O-RU) through dynamic voltage adaptation and renewable energy integration, and O-Cloud environments via intelligent workload management and energy-efficient Cloud Network Functions. Aligned with 3GPP Release-18 features like Discontinuous Transmission/Reception (DTX/DRX) and spatial power-saving methods, these strategies aim to substantially reduce energy consumption while maintaining high performance and service quality.
Central to these strategies are the intelligent capabilities of the O-RAN framework, particularly the Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC), and Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Near-RT RIC). Working in harmony, the SMO orchestrates resources across the network, the Non-RT RIC leverages rApps to develop AI/ML-driven long-term optimization policies, and the Near-RT RIC employs xApps to execute near real-time network adjustments. Together, these components provide a cohesive, intelligent framework that drives the dynamic and effective implementation of the energy-saving solutions detailed in this paper, positioning O-RAN as a leader in sustainable and efficient network operations.
It is important that 5G and next-G networks providing critical infrastructure and mission critical use cases are built with a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) to protect against external and internal threats. ZTA is the evolution of the zero trust concept to a concrete plan based upon multi-layered security controls that provide confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication, and authorization protections from internal and external threats. The O-RAN ALLIANCE is committed to pursue a ZTA through stages of a maturity model that achieve a strong security posture to protect against evolving threats.
The USA Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded more than $273 million as part of the first batch of grants from the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund’s second Notice of Funding Opportunity. This batch of awards will support projects focused on open radio unit hardware commercialization.
Read the full press release here.
Mavenir and Boost Mobile laid claim to the first industry inter-vendor open RAN handover using the 3GPP Xn interface across the operator’s greenfield 5G network, a move they attested proved interoperability.
Read the full announcement here.
Join the RAN Industry Ecosystem at the O-RAN F2F Meetings in Paris, February 24-28, 2025!
Be part of a vibrant gathering of the RAN industry’s most influential players, including operators, contributors, companies, research and academic institutions, and government agencies. Together, we’ll drive the progress of O-RAN initiatives and shape the future of open and intelligent RAN solutions.
O-RAN ALLIANCE sponsors regular F2F Meetings three times per year. Participation is open to all O-RAN Members and Participants (O-RAN ALLIANCE membership is required). Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, collaborate, and innovate. Mark your calendar and join us for a week of impactful discussions, specification development, and networking!
The O-RAN ALLIANCE’s Next Generation Research Group (nGRG) plans to hold its eighth nGRG workshop on February 27, 2025.
The workshop will focus on future 6G standardization from different perspectives, with discussions led by distinguished experts from research institutions and representatives of the RAN industry.
The workshop is scheduled for February 27, 2025, 8:30am - 6:00pm CET, and will be webcast as online webinar.
Interested public is free to attend.
