VIAVI and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) Partners to Advance Open RAN Testing

Viavi Solutions and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) have announced a strategic collaboration to enhance the testing capabilities of the VIAVI Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR). Supported by a $21.7 million grant from the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF), VALOR offers fully automated, open, and impartial testing and integration for Open RAN. It provides a certification pathway in the U.S. for new entrants, startups, and academia, ensuring the interoperability, performance, and security of Open RAN components.

TIP, a global consortium committed to advancing and adopting open and disaggregated networks, thrives on the collective contributions of its member companies. These contributions are essential for driving industry innovation and fostering a collaborative environment where new technologies are developed, tested, certified, and prepared for deployment.

VIAVI's collaboration with TIP embodies this cooperative spirit. By introducing VALOR's test-as-a-service capabilities to TIP, VIAVI supports the mission of TIP's OpenRAN Project Group (PG) and strengthens the industry's capacity to implement and certify OpenRAN technologies.

TIP-authorized labs build on the success of TIP's Community Labs network. This collaboration will streamline the certification process, with VALOR becoming the first TIP-authorized test lab, reducing duplication of efforts and accelerating the time-to-market for Open RAN solutions. The strategic cooperation between TIP and VIAVI promotes innovation and broad industry alignment, driving the global adoption of Open RAN technologies.

The strategic collaboration between VIAVI and TIP will enhance VALOR's cloud-based and virtual testing capabilities, which are critical for modern network performance assessments. These capabilities will be integrated into TIP's system performance certification program, offering a flexible testing framework for vendors and operators. By establishing VALOR as the first TIP-authorized test lab, the partnership will streamline certification, reduce duplication, and accelerate the time-to-market for Open RAN solutions. This collaboration will ensure Open RAN systems meet high-performance standards, supporting TIP's community in developing a robust system performance certification framework that promotes innovation and industry alignment.

Kristian Toivo, Executive Director, TIP, said, "Through this appointment of VALOR as one of the TIP's authorized labs, we are committed to advancing the Open RAN landscape by providing robust and streamlined testing frameworks. Comprehensive end-to-end testing ensures that Open RAN systems meet high-performance standards and are robust enough to handle real-world network complexities, thereby maintaining service quality and reducing downtime. In addition to the extreme performance testing, VALOR's Open RAN virtual testing environment brings new capabilities to TIP Labs and the community. This strategic engagement fosters innovation, improves supply chain resilience, and accelerates the global adoption of Open RAN technologies, offering operators more flexible, cost-effective, and high-performance network solutions."

Dr. Sameh Yamany, Chief Technology Officer, VIAVI, said, "The collaboration between VIAVI and TIP enhances Open RAN system maturity by addressing multi-vendor deployment challenges, ensuring end-to-end system level performance testing from different vendors. VIAVI's participation in TIP's OpenRAN PG and Test and Validation Committee is supporting the creation of industry test plans at a global level. VALOR supports comprehensive end-to-end testing to verify performance, stability, and security under real-world conditions. Additionally, this initiative aims to reduce market fragmentation, create supply chain efficiencies, and build marketplace confidence through standardized testing and certification processes."

The collaboration between VIAVI and TIP to enhance VALOR's testing capabilities for Open RAN is set to significantly reduce integration time and costs while improving data reliability and performance, thereby advancing the development of open and disaggregated networks worldwide.