Institute for Telecommunication Sciences / Research / 5G / 2024.12 IORS

IORS Virtual Meeting, December 2025

Lab-to-lab collaboration inventory

The goal is to establish a baseline of existing and planned international Open RAN test lab collaborations. This virtual session will allow participants to understand the present opportunities, identify where collaboration may be lacking, and allow labs to find future collaboration partners.

We cordially invite all Open RAN labs to share information on lab-to-lab collaboration in these Google Docs:

  • Current lab-to-lab collaborations here
  • Interest in future collaborations here
  • Lab capabilities here

Logistics

  • Moderator: Martin Skorupski (highstreet Technologies)
  • Date: December 3, 2024, at 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. EST
  • Agenda: PDF file
  • Video recording: available on YouTube

Event Summary

The "IORS Virtual Meeting on Lab-to-Lab Collaboration Inventory," held on December 3, 2024, focused on fostering global cooperation in Open RAN testing, validation, and resource sharing. 

The participants discussed the importance of consistent and repeatable testing across regions to streamline deployment cycles, reduce costs, and enhance interoperability. 

Key points highlighted included:

  • Consistency in Testing
    The need for a universal testing framework to ensure reliability across different operator ecosystems. This includes creating standardized test cases and methods.

  • Collaboration Models
    Insights were shared about ongoing lab partnerships, which aim to advance Open RAN readiness from lab setups to field deployments.

  • Challenges
    Participants identified legal, technical, and business confidentiality barriers to sharing test results and integrating diverse systems. There was also a focus on defining technical readiness levels (TRLs) to standardize development stages.

  • Open Source and Vendor Interactions
    Emphasis was placed on the role of open-source solutions in training, experimentation, and innovation. Concerns about maintaining open-source projects and their commercial viability were discussed.

  • Action Items Key takeaways included the need for:

    • Establishing shared governance and legal frameworks for collaboration.
    • Continuing to develop comprehensive inventories of lab capabilities.
    • Addressing interoperability gaps through better-defined standards and shared lessons learned.
    • Sharing of anonymized operator use case data.
    • Establishing best practices for connecting collaboration labs.
    • Hosting regular events and documentation for ongoing knowledge exchange.

The meeting concluded with a call for broader participation and structured approaches to achieve an inclusive and effective global testing ecosystem for Open RAN.