Keysight enables first O-RAN open distributed unit fronthaul certificate for ArrayComm through APOP

• Keysight Open RAN Architect validates ArrayComm’s open distributed unit using O-RAN ALLIANCE’s fronthaul conformance test specifications
• First certificate of fronthaul conformance for open distributed unit will give operators and systems integrators higher confidence in Open RAN architecture

SANTA ROSA, California – Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: KEYS) has enabled ArrayComm to obtain the first O-RAN ALLIANCE Fronthaul Certificate of Conformance for its open distributed unit (O-DU) with the Keysight Open RAN Architect (KORA) solutions. The certification was issued by the Asia & Pacific OTIC in PRC (APOP). 

Awarded through the O-RAN ALLIANCE's Certification and Badging program, ArrayComm's Certification of Conformance verifies its O-DU is compliant with O-RAN fronthaul interface design specifications. O-RAN certifications are issued by Open Testing & Integration Centers (OTIC) such as APOP, which provide a collaborative, open, and impartial working environment to ensure consistency and quality of testing of Open RAN products and solutions.

The KORA test solution validating conformance of the ArrayComm O-DU consists of the P8822S RuSIM user equipment (UE) emulator for fronthaul, the P8850S CoreSIM Open RAN core emulator, and the Network Emulator 3 transport network impairment test instrument. The solution emulates a network to assess the compliance of the O-DUs to fronthaul test specifications as defined by the O-RAN ALLIANCE Working Group 4 (WG4).

KORA solutions enable conformance, interoperability, performance, and security testing across the entire Open RAN lifecycle with suites specifically tailored for chipset makers, software stack developers, network equipment manufacturers, mobile operators, and OTICs.

Zhang Ping, Academician of CAE and President of the ZGC Institute of Ubiquitous-X Innovation and Applications, said: "As one of the first global approved OTIC certification centers, APOP focuses on driving the O-RAN ecosystem. In June 2022, APOP was the first OTIC lab to issue O-RU Certificate of Conformance. Today APOP reached another milestone of issuing the first O-DU Fronthaul Certificate of Conformance. APOP expects to continue the work on fronthaul interface certification, enrich various types of certified products, bring in more O-RU and O-DU manufacturers into the ecosystem and actively encourage more vendors to perform interoperability and end-to-end tests to achieve early deployment by mobile operators."

Xin Huang, Chief Executive Officer at ArrayComm, said: "The ArrayComm O-DU has been awarded the world's first O-RAN Fronthaul Certificate of Conformance, thanks to Keysight's integrated O-RAN testing solution and APOP´s professional certification work. The ArrayComm carrier-grade O-DU will enable customers to build an O-RAN solution quickly."  

Peng Cao, Vice President and General Manager for Keysight's Wireless Test Group, said: "We congratulate ArrayComm for earning the first O-RAN O-DU Fronthaul Certificate of Conformance. By qualifying their O-DU with the Keysight Open RAN Architect solution, they are making the innovations of Open RAN a reality while giving operators and systems integrators a smooth path to integrating this new network architecture."