Vodafone and NTT DoCoMo suggest operators and vendors remain diligent in their open radio access network (RAN) testing environments to stay ahead of challenges in tying together the end goal of seamless interoperability between a diverse network ecosystem.

The pair's suggestions are part of a white paper that is an initial peak into their recently signed collaboration targeted at streamlining open RAN testing.

The pair noted operators should take a uniform approach to open RAN testing based on work from industry bodies that can help avoid repetition when working with other carriers. The white paper itself focuses on integration testing of open RAN radio units (RUs) and distributed units (DUs).

The white paper also tackles testing bottlenecks that can delay the onboarding and integration of RUs and DUs in a lab environment. They noted such basic issues as entities using different versions of industry specifications or misinterpreting those specifications as “common mistakes.”

They also state that operators need to have a clear model of what they actually want to take on when it comes to open RAN testing. This is especially important as the vendor community increasingly wants to consolidate these testing templates to accelerate the pace of development.

“This will give them confidence that their product is ready for interoperability testing at either an operator or community-led lab, avoiding any unnecessary delay,” the white paper explained from an operator perspective.

Finally, the white paper noted that while automation of many processes can accelerate the process and potentially remove barriers, partners need to continue the proactive sharing of details in a walled-garden environment. This will allow testing events to be as efficient as possible.

Analysts have seen modest open RAN usage in commercial deployments but have noted many have been from a single vendor.

“Early adopters are embracing the movement toward more openness but at the same time there is more uncertainty when it comes to the early majority operator and the implications for the broader RAN supplier landscape now with non-multi-vendor deployments driving a significant portion of the year-to-date open RAN market,” Dell’Oro Group VP Stefan Pongratz noted in a recent report.

The analyst firm in a more recent report predicted momentum would continue this year, though it expects revenue growth will slow “reflecting a more challenging comparison with the early adopters.”

The two carriers initiated their joint work last October, which also included tying together their respective lab environments. Vodafone has an open RAN research center in Newbury, United Kingdom, which was one of the carrier’s first 5G markets, and NTT DoCoMo has one in Yokosuka, Japan.

The two also stated plans to share efforts on the service management orchestrator component and the RAN intelligent controller (RIC) platform to map out future updates and the underlying software architecture. This is all geared toward lowering overall development, deployment, and operation costs.

“The collective R&D power of Vodafone and DoCoMo will lower the entry barrier for many more companies across Europe and Asia wishing to build open RAN networks,” Vodafone CTO Johan Wibergh noted in a statement at the time.