LG Uplus said on the 26th that it will expand and build an Open-RAN testbed to verify Open-RAN completeness on a commercial network in partnership with Kumoh National Institute of Technology and Samji Electronics.
Open-RAN technology is a standard that allows telecommunications equipment from different manufacturers to interoperate. By separating the software and hardware needed to operate a network, mobile carriers can choose equipment tailored to their needs to increase efficiency and reduce equipment replacement expense.
LG Uplus and its partners installed Open-RAN radio units (O-RU) in some buildings, including the main building, library, and practice hall, at the Kumoh National Institute of Technology Gumi campus in December, and this year expanded the scope to all buildings to build an Open-RAN user network.
In addition, LG Uplus plans to pursue verification of a "cloud-based virtualized base station" (Cloud RAN) and a "RAN Intelligent Controller" (RIC), which are among the core technologies of Open-RAN.
Kumoh National Institute of Technology will support the demonstration through student participation. Kumoh National Institute of Technology students will take part in 5G radio quality verification activities such as directly checking coverage and measuring uplink and downlink speeds, and will engage in industry-academia collaboration by performing communications quality measurement tasks.
Going forward, LG Uplus plans to focus on revitalizing Korea's Open-RAN ecosystem by diversifying Open-RAN-related equipment and researching how to expand operational efficiency.