Test and monitoring solutions provider Viavi Solutions has expanded its automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN testing facility VALOR Lab with an RF-shielded anechoic chamber and two additional customer labs.
The RF chamber was provided by ETS-Lindgren, a specialist in wireless over-the-air (OTA) performance testing.
The Arizona-based VALOR Lab offers a highly automated, open and impartial Lab-as-a-Service / Test-as-a-Service suite for Open RAN interoperability, performance and security.
As the first AI-RAN Alliance-endorsed lab, VALOR serves as a hub for members of the AI-RAN Alliance, promoting innovation and advancements in AI-powered telecommunications.
The project is funded by the US National Telecommunications and Information Administration Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.
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According to Viavi, the new RF Chamber is the industry's first test-as-a-service offering for Massive MIMO and beamforming over-the-air (OTA) validation, including system-level Massive MIMO performance testing for up to 16 parallel spatial layers.
Massive MIMO utilises large arrays of antennas to support the increased data rates and spectral efficiency of 5G.
"Compared to traditional testing using electrical cabling between test instruments and the device under test (DUT), OTA streamlines the testing process by placing the DUT in a chamber shielded from outside interference and testing it with wireless signals to further emulate real-world scenarios," Viavi says.
With two additional labs now available, customers can access over 500 test cases compliant with O-RAN WG4, WG5, WG11, TIFG and 3GPP specifications.
"This expansion addresses the growing demand for our innovative Open RAN Lab-as-a-Service offering, which helps democratize Open RAN testing for technology vendors by providing them with a comprehensive, on-demand test suite throughout the entire product lifecycle," said Erik Probstfield, Senior Director, VALOR, Viavi.
"With the new RF Chamber, we are excited to offer OTA testing that will help accelerate O-RU commercialisation and innovation."