Certification can both lower the burden on MNOs to independently test each integrated Open RAN solution, and on vendors to individually demonstrate interoperability, conformance, performance, and security to every potential customer. It will provide confidence to the Open RAN market that a component is sufficiently mature, conformant, interoperable, and performant. This is especially crucial for developing emerging vendors and use cases, such as the emerging private wireless market.

To achieve this goal of an Open RAN certification that matters, we can build on existing certification programs, like those being developed by the O-RAN Alliance and TIP. They mark an important first step, but there is work to be done in terms of meeting operators’ requirements and the need for consistent and repeatable testing.

At the i14y Lab we are focused on keeping operators’ requirements in mind as the way forward for Open RAN. And we know how because European operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and Telefonica are part of the Lab’s consortium. We see it as our role to help create the standards, KPIs, and security levels that matter to operators and ultimately the market.

As for the ability to perform consistent and repeatable testing, we have already built strong capabilities in pre-integration and testing that enable us to help you move towards readiness for certification.

So, for 2025, we will work hard on doing our bit in creating this certification framework by making testing for Open RAN more consistent and reliable. And we will pursue this goal by both doing exploratory work and pursuing new certification projects. I am sure that this path will teach us and the community many new, relevant things and create tangible results.

Quite a few projects are already in various stages of progress, and we are looking forward to sharing the details with you. But we are equally excited for all the integration, testing, and certification missions the Open RAN community will send our way. We are here, and we are eager to accept them.