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Field Instrument for O-RAN Deployment Gets 5G Cell Sites Up and Running

Oct. 21, 2021

Viavi’s latest field instrument feeds the O-RAN revolution in 5G cell sites by getting them operational faster and at lower installed cost.

David Maliniak

Related To: Microwaves & RF

The Overview

Viavi Solutions’s OneAdvisor-800 is an all-in-one cellular site test tool with comprehensive capabilities for cell-site deployment, including:

· Fiber inspection and characterization

· Cable and antenna analysis

· Open RAN (O-RAN) radio verification (when upgraded with the O-DU Emulation application).

Who Needs It and Why?

Service providers and equipment manufacturers worldwide are adopting open radio-access networks to reduce infrastructure costs and lower the barrier to entry for new product innovation. In line with these benefits, O-RAN also enables carriers to thoroughly validate the tower installation very early in the process, thereby reducing installation problems and accelerating deployments. Viavi’s OneAdvisor-800 cell site test tool brings the company’s savvy in O-RAN specifications development and wireless lab validation platforms to bear on the field requirements for getting 5G sites up and running.

Under the Hood

OneAdvisor-800 is a single, modular instrument that helps cell-site technicians test fiber, radio frequency (RF), and Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), eliminating the need for multiple independent tools. The addition of the Open Distributed Unit (O-DU) Emulation application further streamlines site verification and guards against future site visits by technicians by enabling functional testing of the Open Radio Unit (O-RU) upon installation, rather than waiting until the O-DU is in place. The technician’s work is simplified by guided workflows, with Job Manager programming the service provider’s test criteria, and automatically uploading results to the StrataSync cloud.

With its modular design philosophy, the OneAdvisor-800 is, in a sense, future-proofed. The addition of O-RAN radio verification through the O-DU Emulation application is an indication of Viavi’s commitment to support the entire network lifecycle.

Viavi’s comprehensive test platform for lab validation, field deployment, and service assurance of O-RAN networks is able to validate that all interfaces are working correctly—including RF, O-DU, O-RU, signaling, transport, timing, and synchronization—and equipment is performing to specifications even under load and stress, from the lab to the field. Viavi also helps network operators ensure interoperability—a key concern in a multi-vendor-based O-RAN environment.

About the Author

David Maliniak | Executive Editor, Microwaves & RF

I am Executive Editor of Microwaves & RF, an all-digital publication that broadly covers all aspects of wireless communications. More particularly, we're keeping a close eye on technologies in the consumer-oriented 5G, 6G, IoT, M2M, and V2X markets, in which much of the wireless market's growth will occur in this decade and beyond. I work with a great team of editors to provide engineers, developers, and technical managers with interesting and useful articles and videos on a regular basis. Check out our free newsletters to see the latest content.

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About me:

In his long career in the B2B electronics-industry media, David Maliniak has held editorial roles as both generalist and specialist. As Components Editor and, later, as Editor in Chief of EE Product News, David gained breadth of experience in covering the industry at large. In serving as EDA/Test and Measurement Technology Editor at Electronic Design, he developed deep insight into those complex areas of technology. Most recently, David worked in technical marketing communications at Teledyne LeCroy, leaving to rejoin the EOEM B2B publishing world in January 2020. David earned a B.A. in journalism at New York University.