Rajesh Rao, regional vice president, Asia Pacific South, Network and Service Enablement, VIAVI Solutions
VIAVI is a global solutions provider for testing and measurement across myriad industries like communication networks, cloud, hyperscale, enterprise data centres, avionics, industrial, automotive, transportation, military, railway, and aerospace. Rajesh Rao, regional vice president, Asia Pacific South, Network and Service Enablement, VIAVI Solutions, shares his views on how VIAVI is at the forefront of test, monitoring and assurance solutions amidst 6G advancements, and strategic collaborations to ensure network reliability and innovation.
How has the test and measurement (T&M) industry evolved in the last decade? What pivotal changes are currently shaping it?
The Indian 5G ecosystem is growing rapidly and communication service providers are strengthening their 5G capabilities. The government has implemented specific schemes to accelerate the entire 5G ecosystem. Also with Bharat 6G Mission, India aims to spearhead advancements in 6G technology. Given the government’s focus on creating a collaborative platform to promote indigenous technologies, the telecom landscape is shifting rapidly.
The test requirements and unique installation challenges for new 5G cell sites and radio access network (RAN) deployments are boosting the demand for T&M solutions. Further, the rise of hyperscale ecosystem and cloudification is blurring the lines between networks and applications, while 5G technologies are pushing more intelligence to the edge of the network. AI is enabling a myriad of potential applications and transforming the way we live and work.
In the telecommunications industry, open RAN (O-RAN) is being adopted by operators and equipment manufacturers to reduce infrastructure deployment costs and lower entry barriers for new product innovation. With developments underway, 6G will be no exception but promises leaps in efficiency and extended capability. Further, wireless technologies are increasingly augmenting traditional terrestrial communication networks with satellite communications helping to provide near-complete coverage, thus shaping the T&Ms landscape.
Further, automotive, aerospace & defence, data centres, enterprises, telecommunications, semiconductor and critical infrastructure are some of the key segments driving demand for T&M solutions. VIAVI plays a significant role through installation, maintenance, monitoring, optimisation, and monetisation. It is a significant moment for us to be here as we extend our capabilities to enable these networks.
How can operators ensure the reliability, stability, and performance of non-terrestrial networks (NTNs)?
Third-generation partnership project (3GPP) 17 specifications formally introduced support and guidelines for NTNs, with subsequent releases expected to continue. These specifications will help improve the performance of NTNs, allow them to converge with terrestrial telecoms networks, and enable support across existing 5G mobile handsets and chipsets. A VIAVI analysis estimated that the growth in satellite communications will result in approximately 30,000 new satellites orbiting the Earth, significantly expanding the potential of NTNs to provide universal coverage.
Satellite communication in 5G brings another level of complexity for testing. NTNs need to be reliable to cope with the distance, speed and mobility of satellites, high altitude platforms (HAPs), and user equipment (UE), while still delivering on performance. Test solutions are not only required to emulate different UE mobility and fading profiles, but they must also take the large doppler shifts from fast-moving satellites and airborne platforms into consideration.
To validate the base station prior to non-terrestrial deployment, the TM500 can emulate a high volume of devices, new mobility patterns, signal propagation delays, and other conditions unique to NTN while TeraVM emulates the core network. This test scenario is ideal for early functional tests such as 3GPP protocol testing and can be applied to both regenerative and transparent architectures.
As the industry embraces the 5G revolution, how do test solutions help in mitigating the associated security risks?
5G networks are far more digitized than previous generations – virtualisation, cloud hosting and new services like; network slicing makes the networks less centralised and more software-led than ever before. This has security implications not seen before in long-term evolution (LTE), so testing needs to be a priority to identify potential vulnerabilities. Also, the virtualisation of edge, 5G core, and RAN gives operators more flexibility when building networks; however, it involves numerous different parties in the development process. This results in more entry points and higher chances of misconfigurations.
5G RAN, 5G core, secure access service edge (SASE), next generation firewalls, virtual private networks (VPN), and cloud security solutions all need to be compliant against the latest specifications, while ensuring optimal network performance. VIAVI offers an end-to-end portfolio encompassing robust tests, verification and assurance solutions for all aspects of the 5G network. VIAVI NITRO Wireless Open RAN Security Solution provides test coverage that includes 3GPP SCAS compliance, 5G Core firewall security, post-quantum cryptography (PQC) test solutions, denial of service (DoS) and fuzzing attack, O-Cloud resource exhaustion, protocol validation, port scanning, and open fronthaul security test.
What are the upcoming advances in 6G?
VIAVI is working on several projects driving 6G and advancing wireless technology with its strides in 6G and artificial intelligence (AI) research, through its 6G Forward Program. The program is accelerating technology evolution through a combination of proprietary research within the VIAVI Marconi Labs (VML), specialising in wireless technology research, innovation, and testing, and support of global academic labs.
VIAVI’s research collaborations with the Institute for Wireless Internet of Things and the Open6G cooperative research center at Northeastern University have resulted in creating a 6G city-scale digital twin. Powered by advanced AI and machine learning (ML) technologies, it plays a crucial role in training components like the 6G AI-Native Air Interface, enhancing our understanding of network dynamics and performance.
VIAVI has also collaborated with organisations like the O-RAN ALLIANCE, one6G, the 5-6 innovation centre, leading educational institutions and the DSIT ONE research project, which received a significant research grant from the UK government, to name a few.
Discuss VIAVI’s future growth strategies.
Telecommunications is clearly a major focus, covering technology development in the lab and in the field, network product integration and subsequent optimisation and monetisation. While we serve a diverse set of industries. We are actively engaging in aerospace and defence networks, satellite communications, AI, cyber security, data centres and enterprise solutions.
We offer complete solutions for testing avionics. VIAVI’s avionics test products are used world-wide by designers, engineers, and maintenance personnel to manufacture, test, and maintain avionics systems.
Testing needs continue to advance rapidly as O-RAN enters the mainstream of network infrastructure, and the industry incorporating NTN to augment coverage in mobile communications. VIAVI is working closely with network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) and service providers (SPs) to help them streamline the validation of new technologies in the lab and in the field and to efficiently deploy and turn up new technologies.
