By: Brad Randall, Broadband Communities
Viavi Solutions Inc., also known as VIAVI, has announced a strategic partnership with the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) to expand Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) testing capabilities for VIAVI’s Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN, also known as VALOR.
The efforts, according to VIAVI, were made possible by a $21.7 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund.
According to the company’s July 8 release, the money helped fund the creation of VALOR, which “provides a pathway to certification in the U.S. for new entrants, startups, and academia.”
“By bringing VALOR’s test-as-a-service capabilities to TIP, VIAVI advances the mission of TIP’s OpenRAN Project Group and enhances the broader industry’s ability to implement and certify Open RAN technologies,” the release stated.
As part of the partnership, VALOR, which “offers cloud-based and virtual testing capabilities critical for modern, scalable network performance assessments,” will be incorporated into TIP’s system performance certification program.
Dr. Sameh Yamany, the chief technology officer at VIAVI, said the partnership addresses deployment challenges faced by vendors.
“This initiative aims to reduce market fragmentation, create supply chain efficiencies, and build marketplace confidence through standardized testing and certification processes,” Yamany said.
With the announcement, VALOR has become the first of TIP’s authorized test labs, according to VIAVI’s release.
Kristian Toivo, TIP’s executive director, said end-to-end testing, like that provided by VALOR, “ensures that Open RAN systems meet high-performance standards and are robust enough to handle real-world network complexities, thereby maintaining service quality and reducing downtime.”
Toivo said VALOR’s Open RAN virtual testing environment bring new capabilities to TIP’s community.
“This strategic engagement fosters innovation, improves supply chain resilience, and accelerates the global adoption of Open RAN technologies, offering operators more flexible, cost-effective, and high-performance network solutions,” Toivo said.
As a result of the partnership, TIP plans to leverage VALOR’s capabilities to help build a performance certification framework to promote industry alignment, according to VIAVI’s release.
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