KT Successfully Achieves Multi-Vendor Interoperability for Open RAN Virtualized Base Stations

On the 15th, KT announced that it successfully achieved multi-vendor interoperability of an Open RAN virtualized base station at the global Open RAN demonstration event, 'PlugFest Spring 2023.'

Open RAN is an open radio access network technology that enables interoperability between base station equipment from different manufacturers, and a virtualized base station is a technology that implements various network functions in software form.

At this event, KT connected its Open RAN virtualized base station to the test network at the Pangyo 5G Testbed Center operated by the Ministry of Science and ICT and the National Information Society Agency (NIA). Together with various partners including NTT DOCOMO, Fujitsu, Solid, Keysight Technologies, and the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), KT successfully demonstrated the Open RAN virtualized base station according to the Open RAN Alliance specifications.

The demonstration consisted of ▲Conformance tests to verify that equipment was correctly implemented according to standard specifications, ▲Inter-operability tests to verify interface interoperability between multi-vendor equipment, and ▲End-to-End (E2E) tests to verify performance by configuring a complete system.

This demonstration signifies KT's success in achieving multi-vendor interoperability of 5G virtualized base stations using Open RAN technology on the global stage. KT expects to enhance compatibility between equipment from different manufacturers and reduce installation costs and time.

KT's virtualized base station radio unit (DU) was composed of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) general servers equipped with hardware accelerators. The virtualization of such radio network equipment is considered a key technology for the future evolution of 6G networks.

Lee Jong-sik, Senior Vice President and Head of the Infrastructure DX Research Lab at KT Convergence Technology Institute, said, "Since the technological goal of Open RAN is to build an open ecosystem involving various telecommunications equipment manufacturers, it is meaningful that we succeeded in demonstrating the Open RAN virtualized base station with multiple manufacturers. Going forward, KT will continue to share Open RAN technology and know-how to build a domestic Open RAN ecosystem."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.