Keysight Technologies announced that Xilinx has selected Keysight's O-RAN radio unit (O-RU) test tools to accelerate development of massive multiple input multiple output (MMIMO) reference designs and verify compliance to standards specified by the O-RAN Alliance. The O-RU reference design is based on Xilinx's adaptable radio frequency system-on-chip (RFSOC) technology. The two companies demonstrated the O-RU test environment at the O-RAN Alliance organized Plugfest event held at multiple sites between July and September of 2020 and have started a collaboration to further advance O-RAN compliance testing.
"We're pleased to join forces with Xilinx to accelerate development and integration of O-RAN compliant network equipment," said Giampaolo Tardioli, vice president and general manager for Keysight network access business. "O-RU vendors rely on test solutions that support straight forward O-RAN conformance validation to keep pace with evolving specifications and requirements."
Open network architectures allow mobile operators to remain vendor independent and scale capacity, coverage, performance and functionality. By 2026, open RAN will account for fifty-eight percent of total RAN capital expenditure (capex) spending, reaching thirty-two billion dollars, according to Rethink Technology Research. The proliferation of Open RAN vendors and units, in addition to evolving O-RAN standards, is increasing the need for Keysight's integrated test solution portfolio.
"Keysight's O-RAN test solutions, which combine visibility, validation and performance test capabilities across radio frequency and protocol measurement domains, enable Xilinx to accelerate development and validation of massive MIMO reference designs," said Brendan Farley, vice president, Wireless Engineering at Xilinx. "ZYNQ Ultrascale+ RFSOC solutions adapt and scale with evolving standards while addressing the performance, cost and power challenges of 5G. RFSOCs enable wireless infrastructure manufacturers to achieve form factor, weight, and power reduction, critical to massive MIMO deployment."
