Rajesh Rao, regional vice-president and director, Asia Pacific and Japan, VIAVI Solutions

VIAVI is enabling industries, from communication networks and hyperscale data centres to consumer electronics and avionics. In an interview with tele.net, Rajesh Rao, regional vice-president and director, Asia Pacific and Japan, VIAVI Solutions, talks about the company’s role in the evolving 5G and O-RAN segments and future growth strategies in India…

What are VIAVI’s key focus areas in the Indi­an market? How are you leveraging opportunities in the evolving 5G ecosystem?

VIAVI has a significant research and development (R&D) and sales base in In­dia. We are optimistic about the scale of the Indian market. We offer a complete gamut of end-to-end RAN to Core and lab to live testing and validation solutions across 5G, fibre and cloud. With our broad range of solutions, we empower network operators, equipment manufacturers, enterprises, government, aerospace and railways with intuitive instruments, intelligence and insights.

How are VIAVI’s test solutions helping in validating and optimising 5G networks? How do these solutions assist in mitigating security risks?

VIAVI offers an end-to-end portfolio encompassing robust tests, verification and assurance solutions for all aspects of the 5G network. The quality journey begins in the lab, where each new RAN, core and fibre element of the 5G network is developed. With comprehensive domain expertise across multi-vendor, cloud-native and open networks, we ensure that performance and feasibility testing are executed rigorously to anticipate implementation challenges in the real world.

VIAVI’s field verification solutions help avoid shortfalls and boost network capabilities during the installation, commissioning and acceptance phases. Fibre un­derpins 5G networks all the way to the base station. Ensu­ring its smooth operation is cru­cial for the 5G customer experience, including timing and synchronisation testing.

Can you elaborate on your recently annou­n­ced NITRO Wireless so­lu­tion? How does it help communicat­ion service providers and netw­ork equipment manufacturers?

NITRO Wireless offers pro­du­cts, solutions and services to enable all participants in the eco­system – equipment manufacturers, service provi­de­rs, semiconductor companies, software developers and system integrators – to accelerate technology development by validating performance at each stage in intelligent, intuitive and automated ways. It combines ind­ustry-standard performance and interoperability test platforms for the 3rd Gene­ra­tion Partnership Project and O-RAN with cloud, intelligence, automation and digital twin technology enabled by the NITRO platform.

What is the current state of O-RAN in India? How is VIAVI enabling the O-RAN ecosystem?

As O-RAN moves from the lab to the field, the challenges of deploying new technology are compounded by the need to support legacy networks. To keep up with the accelerating pace of O-RAN adoption, VIAVI is introducing several enhancements to its industry-leading portfolio of end-to-end test and assurance solutions.

VIAVI has established a multifaceted commitment to ensure the success of O-RAN development and deployment. It has embraced the challenges of multi-vendor interoperability testing by supporting and collaborating with partners to develop O-RAN-compliant test tools extending from the lab to the field. This includes component-level wrap-around testing, vendor pairing evaluations to validate the function, performance, robustness and resilien­ce of specific combinations, and protocol compliance testing for open interfaces.

As one of the earliest contributors to O-RAN industry initiatives, VIAVI has established a leading end-to-end O-RAN portfolio, encompassing robust RAN and core test solutions, accelerating next-gen O-RAN networks through active participation in cross-functional forums.

What are your growth plans and strategies for the next two to three years?

VIAVI has a strong R&D setup in India and we will continue to invest and expand our presence.

VIAVI and TCS have marked 25 years of partnership with a focus on the future of communication networks. As part of this co-innovation, VIAVI and TCS built an intuitive platform, simplifying testing operations and reimagining the user experience for system testers, field engineers and technology partners.

Extending its commitment to Make in India, VIAVI acquired CanGo Networks, which is based in Chennai, to strengthen its cloud-native Artificial Intelligence for Network Operations portfolio (now called NITRO AIOps), which helps CSPs and enterprises accelerate their digital transformation journey.

Addressing the optical lab, production and manufacturing environments, VIAVI is working with premier R&D centres en­abling them with tools for the development of next-generation technologies. VIAVI’s lab and production testing for high-performance optical networks span the technology lifecycle from lab to field.