Project Grant 2560IF011

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) awarded a $2,676,692 Project Grant to Northeastern University under the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund Grant Program (CFDA 11.038). The purpose of this 2-year project is to develop and operationalize a high-fidelity wireless network digital twin (DT) platform with hardware-in-the-loop, known as DigiRAN. The DT framework is designed to streamline low-cost, real-time, repeatable, and automated testing and evaluation of the interoperability, performance, and security of open 5G radio access networks in emulated environments. Key activities include creating virtual wireless worlds for testing, designing automated 5G RAN protocol stack testing, enabling real-time networking between physical and virtual systems, and integrating open RAN components into the DT emulation platform. The primary outcome is the delivery of high-fidelity digital twins to enable efficient and repeatable multi-vendor interoperability, performance, and security testing at a fraction of the usual cost. The project will benefit stakeholders in the open RAN ecosystem, including telecom operators, vendors, and integrators.