This project will develop testing and evaluation procedures for open and interoperable solutions for next generation (5G-advanced and beyond) ran components in the FR3 band with a focus on both shared…

This $2,000,000 Project Grant was awarded by the Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration under the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund Grant Program (CFDA 11.038). The purpose is to develop testing and evaluation procedures for open and interoperable solutions for next-generation (5G-Advanced and beyond) radio access network (RAN) components in the FR3 spectrum band, with a focus on shared and adversarial scenarios.

Key activities include developing requirements and testing methods for FR3 open RAN radio units (O-RUs), system-level testing for shared resources, and evaluating adversarial settings like jamming and signal disruption. The expected outcome is a testing and evaluation framework to enable a rich ecosystem of developers to build technology in the FR3 space. Subrecipients Pi Radio Inc. and Florida International University will develop an FR3 software-defined radio and lead on adversarial scenarios, respectively. The grant has a period of performance from Sep 1, 2023 to Aug 31, 2028.

Activities

Develop requirements and testing methods for FR3 open ran radio units (o-RUS); - consider testing methods and metrics at the system level for shared resources; - consider adversarial settings including jamming and signal disruption on control and use plane data; - partitioning of tasks, interface specifications, and testing for open ran implementations that offer modularity and flexibility to develop FR3 ran systems.

Expected outcomes

Creation of a testing and evaluation framework to enable a rich ecosystem of developers to build technology in the FR3 space.

Intended beneficiaries

Open ran product developers, cellular mobile network operators (mnos), academic researchers.

Subrecipient activities

The recipient plans to subaward funds to PI-radio to develop the RF transceiver board and o-RU. Florida international university will lead on adversarial scenarios.