VIAVI and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) have announced a strategic collaboration to enhance the testing capabilities of the VIAVI Automated Lab-as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR).
Supported by a $21.7 million grant from the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF), VALOR offers fully automated, impartial testing and integration for Open RAN, paving the way for certification in the U.S. for new entrants, startups, and academic institutions, ensuring interoperability, performance, and security of Open RAN components.
TIP, a global consortium dedicated to the advancement and adoption of open and disaggregated networks, thrives on contributions from its member companies, which drive industry innovation and create a collaborative environment for the development, testing, and certification of new technologies.
VIAVI’s partnership with TIP exemplifies this collaborative ethos. By integrating VALOR’s test-as-a-service capabilities into TIP, VIAVI supports TIP’s OpenRAN Project Group (PG) and enhances the broader industry’s capacity to implement and certify Open RAN technologies.
TIP-authorised labs build on the success of TIP’s Community Labs. This collaboration will streamline the certification process, with VALOR becoming the first TIP-authorised test lab, reducing duplication of efforts and accelerating the time-to-market for Open RAN solutions. This strategic cooperation between TIP and VIAVI promotes innovation and broad industry alignment, driving the global adoption of Open RAN technologies.
The collaboration between VIAVI and TIP to expand VALOR’s testing capabilities for Open RAN is set to significantly reduce integration time and costs, improve data reliability and performance, and advance the global progress of open and disaggregated networks.
Kristian Toivo, Executive Director, TIP, said: “Through this appointment of VALOR as one of the TIP’s authorised labs, we are committed to advancing the Open RAN landscape by providing robust and streamlined testing frameworks. Comprehensive end-to-end testing 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.
“In addition to the extreme performance testing, VALOR’s Open RAN virtual testing environment brings new capabilities to TIP Labs and the 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.”
Dr. Sameh Yamany, Chief Technology Officer, VIAVI, added: “The collaboration between VIAVI and TIP enhances Open RAN system maturity by addressing multi-vendor deployment challenges, ensuring end-to-end system level performance testing from different vendors. VIAVI’s participation in TIP’s OpenRAN PG and Test and Validation Committee is supporting the creation of industry test plans at a global level.
“VALOR supports comprehensive end-to-end testing to verify performance, stability, and security under real-world conditions. Additionally, this initiative aims to reduce market fragmentation, create supply chain efficiencies, and build marketplace confidence through standardised testing and certification processes.”
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