Open RAN Research Reports
Path towards scaling Open RAN Architecture – a joint whitepaper by Vodafone and NTT DOCOMO
The latest Vodafone and NTT DOCOMO, INC. (DOCOMO) joint white paper sets out different approaches to deploying Open RAN and the greater architectural agility it brings to the design and construction of customer-focussed networks.
Open RAN enables hardware and software to be decoupled which means mobile network operators can more easily adjust their network topology (the sequencing of nodes and connections) to suit specific environments and network conditions such as access to suitable transport links using unused fibre.
Open RAN Handbook – second edition
Vodafone and Keysight Technologies have released the second edition of their comprehensive Open RAN (Open Radio Access Network) Handbook. It provides essential guidance for vendors testing the Open RAN software and hardware.
This edition highlights the importance of energy efficiency in Open RAN networks and serves as a guide for building sustainable, high-performance networks. It aims to help network operators and vendors to optimize energy consumption, benchmark efficiency, and implement best practices to reduce operational costs while improving sustainability.
The handbook builds on insights from Vodafone’s ongoing Open RAN Central lab testing, Plugfests activities, as well as results achieved from a demonstration under the NTIA forum event with its technology partners. The Handbook provides a deep dive into:
- Progress in 3GPP and O-RAN ALLIANCE standards related to Open RAN energy-saving features.
- Energy benchmarking methodologies, test scenarios, and setups for Open RAN components, including O-RU, O-DU, O-CU, O-Cloud, RIC, and xApps/rApps.
- Key test results and insights from extensive evaluations conducted in Vodafone’s labs from 2022 to 2024.
- Recommendations for advancing industry standards and optimizing Open RAN product implementations.
Vodafone is committed to accelerating vendor innovation by expanding the Open RAN ecosystem and promoting competition to lower costs and enhance network sustainability. By sharing these findings, Vodafone and Keysight aim to drive the industry forward, ensuring that Open RAN delivers both technological and environmental benefits.
With this latest publication, Vodafone and Keysight reaffirm their leadership in shaping the future of efficient, open, and sustainable networks.
Open RAN Handbook – second editionOpen RAN MoU technical priorities - Release 4
The Open RAN Technical Priorities Release 4 is an update of the documents published in June 2021 (Release 1), March 2022 (Release 2) and April 2023 (Release 3) respectively. It is the result of the work carried out under the MoU on Open RAN signed by Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange S.A., Telefónica S.A., TIM S.p.A. and Vodafone Group Plc.
Each release has prioritised different aspects of Open RAN development. Release 1 focused on the main scenarios and technical requirements for each of the building blocks of a multi-vendor RAN. Release 2 mainly focused on intelligence, orchestration, transport and cloud infrastructure, addressing also the energy efficiency goals and targets to support sustainable Open RAN. And Release 3 mainly focused on developing requirements on SMO and RIC building blocks and to enhance other areas such as Cloud infrastructure, O-CU/O-DU and O-RU, addressing also the security topic to support more secure Open RAN.
The fourth release of the technical priorities has primarily focused on developing further requirements on SMO especially related to AI/ML framework, interworking with traditional RAN and slicing management and on Security with MoU operator vision about the zero trust approach and requirements for certification and also on Cloud infrastructure mainly focused on O2 and Acceleration Abstraction Layer, while other areas have been significantly enhanced such as RAN software, O-RU and O-CU/DU. Moreover, this new release focuses in more detail on the RAN hardware acceleration topic and various challenges related to both the look-aside and in-line acceleration card models. In particular, the RAN HW acceleration requirements are now contained within a dedicated section of the MoU Technical Priorities document.
The Technical Priorities are those that the signatories consider priorities for Open RAN solutions. The technical priorities serve as guidance to the RAN supplier industry on where they can focus to accelerate market deployments in Europe, focusing on commercial product availability in the short term, and solution development in the medium term. The 5 operators also intend for these priorities to act as an input into TIP’s OpenRAN Release Framework. The Technical Priorities do not represent any alignment on procurement/product selection processes of individual signatories.
The overall objective is to promote a fast pace for the development of competitive Open RAN solutions in Europe, across other regions and ultimately accelerate the global adoption of the technology. The Open RAN MoU Group technical priorities will evolve over time following the progress of Open RAN standardisation, in the respective standardization bodies, and the market development of Open RAN solutions.
Vodafone, Cirrus360, and Intel introduce a new computer language framework for Open RAN
Vodafone, Cirrus360, and Intel have demonstrated a computer language framework for Open Radio Access Networks (RAN) that automates the process of introducing and running software across hardware from multiple vendors.
The RAN Domain Specific Language (RDSL), which is described in a white paper shared with the wider RAN community (see link below), provides operators with a faster and more cost-effective way to fine tune software to sync perfectly with silicon chips and other hardware that make up an Open RAN mobile site.
Open RAN MoU technical priorities - Release 3
Open RAN Technical Priorities Release 3 is an update of the documents published in June 2021 (Release 1) and March 2022 (Release 2) respectively. It is the result of the work carried out under the MoU on Open RAN signed by Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange S.A., Telefónica S.A., TIM S.p.A. and Vodafone Group Plc.
While Release 1 focused on the main scenarios and technical requirements for each of the building blocks of a multi-vendor RAN, Release 2 mainly focused on intelligence, orchestration, transport and cloud infrastructure, addressing also the energy efficiency goals and targets to support sustainable Open RAN.
This Release 3 has primarily focused on developing further requirements on SMO and RIC while other areas have been significantly enhanced such as Cloud Infrastructure, O-CU/O-DU and O-RU. Moreover, this new release focuses in more detail on security topics and various challenges introduced by the disaggregation promoted by the O-RAN architecture. In particular, the security requirements are now contained within a dedicated section of the MoU Technical Priorities document. Energy efficiency topics were also analysed in more detail, with new requirements identified in various streams, for example, Cloud Infrastructure, O-CU/O-DU, RIC use cases and RAN features.
The Technical Priorities are those that the signatories consider priorities for Open RAN solutions. The technical priorities (i) serve as guidance to the RAN supplier industry on where they can focus to accelerate market deployments in Europe, focusing on commercial product availability in the short term, and solution development in the medium term, and (ii) are intended to act as an input into TIP’s OpenRAN Release Framework, which can then be developed with the industry at large to create requirements that can potentially be used as the basis for certification, promoting an efficient supply chain. The Technical Priorities do not represent any alignment on procurement / product selection processes of individual signatories.
The overall objective is to promote a fast pace for the development of competitive Open RAN solutions in Europe, across other regions and ultimately accelerate the global adoption of the technology. The Open RAN MoU Group technical priorities, as with any industry-driven requirements developed through TIP, will evolve over time following the progress of Open RAN standardization, in the respective standardization bodies, and market development of Open RAN solutions.
Major European operators accelerate progress on Open RAN maturity, security and energy efficiency
A new report from Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange S.A., TIM, Telefónica S.A., and Vodafone Group Plc demonstrates the essential progress being made in improving the maturity, security, and energy efficiency of new Open Radio Access Networks (Open RAN). It addresses questions and challenges raised by experts and decision makers within the industry.
Download the reportO-RU/O-DU Integration Challenges in an Open RAN Environment. A Joint white paper by Vodafone and DOCOMO
Vodafone and NTT DOCOMO, INC. (DOCOMO) joint white paper offering advice to the wider operator and vendor community when testing the integration of key Open RAN software and hardware building blocks
Download the reportThe journey to a cloud-native, fully software-defined vRAN architecture
Read about the progress Vodafone and Intel have made in Open RAN platforms and architecture, including investments in future technologies.
Download the reportOpen RAN Security White Paper
The ‘Open RAN Security White Paper’ is the result of the work carried out by the security experts of Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange S.A., Telefónica S.A., TIM S.p.A. and Vodafone Group Plc being the signatories of the Open RAN MoU.
This document starts with an introduction of the MoU framework, and the O-RAN Alliance organisation and its activities. It focuses on all security aspects within Open RAN technology, describing the risk-based threat modeling and remediation analysis conducted within the O-RAN Alliance for building an effective Open RAN security architecture.
In addition, it provides details on the Open RAN Security Focus Group (SFG) activities, which focuses on developing the four security specifications that are the pillars of the Open RAN security architecture. These include threat modeling, security requirements, protocols and tests.
Download the reportOpen RAN Technical Priorities – Focus on Energy Efficiency
This Open RAN Technical Priorities Release 2 is an update of the document published in June 2021. It is the result of the work carried out under the MoU on Open RAN signed by Deutsche Telekom AG, Orange S.A., Telefónica S.A., TIM S.p.A. and Vodafone Group Plc.
Release 1 focused on the main scenarios and technical requirements for each of the building blocks of a multi-vendor RAN. Release 2 builds on those requirements and focuses on intelligence, orchestration, transport and cloud infrastructure, with the aim of promoting a fully automated and interoperable Open RAN system.
The energy efficiency goals and targets to support sustainable Open RAN deployments have also been addressed. It is expected that Open RAN networks will gradually become more energy efficient than traditional RAN, benefiting from Open RAN concepts such as cloudification, disaggregation and native AI.
The overall objective is to promote a fast pace for the development of competitive Open RAN solutions in Europe, across other regions and ultimately accelerate the global adoption of the technology. These requirements will evolve over time following the progress of Open RAN standardisation and market development of Open RAN solutions.