Petr Ledl, Head of Research and Trials at Deutsche Telekom, kicked off the discussion by reflecting on his involvement with Open RAN since the early days of the xRAN initiative in 2016. He highlighted that one of the primary motivations behind Open RAN’s disaggregated architecture was to introduce flexibility, enabling operators to mix and match different components. However, this flexibility also brought significant integration complexities. Ledl noted that certification is essential to mitigate these challenges, as it offers a level of assurance that components meet specifications, are interoperable, and adhere to performance standards.
From an operator's perspective, certification is not just about verifying compliance, but also about creating a common language across the industry. "Seeing is believing," Ledl remarked, underscoring the importance of transparency in certification results. A robust certification framework can ensure that tests conducted in one lab produce results that are understandable and trustworthy to another lab, eliminating redundant testing and building confidence across the supply chain.