Open/secure 5G and supplier diversification

Tawara Yasuo

At a recent convention, Tawara Yasuo ardently supported Open RAN and underscored the need for supplier diversification within the framework of the IGF OpenSecure 5G. In addition to praising endeavours towards ensuring diversified suppliers, Yasuo emphasised the critical need for nationwide network services to safeguard the reliability of the supply chain within the telecommunications sector.

His keynote speech also spotlighted the essential role of security in implementing Open RAN. Yasuo cited the Open RAN Security Report, issued by QUAD, which offers actionable solutions to potential security risks inherent in Open RAN. He stressed that these risks are parallel to the ones experienced in traditional RAN, thereby dispelling prevalent apprehensions surrounding the introduction of Open RAN.

Consistent with this viewpoint, Yasuo further asserted that, by employing necessary protocols, Open RAN can achieve security standards on par with traditional counterparts. This sentiment was supported by the revealing statistic that only 4% of security risks are unique to Open RAN, thereby underlining the feasibility of this new system within the telecommunications landscape. In addition, the Open RAN Security Report provides a robust security checklist to assist with establishing required security standards.

Yasuo drew attention to the importance of establishing open and secure networks for the future of the Internet. Such networks, in his argument, are ‘a very, very important issue’ primed to serve as foundational bedrock for the future expansion and prosperity of the Internet.

Finally, Yasuo fervently advocated the promotion of Open RAN policies. His commitment was evident in his promise to incessantly collaborate with colleagues and like-minded countries to advance these policy issues. Yasuo’s pronounced sentiment towards innovation within Open RAN policies, coupled with his commitment to promote these initiatives, underscores his robust strategy towards finding sustainable solutions for telecommunications infrastructure.

Speaker 1

The Internet Governance Forum (IGF), a widely-respected international platform committed to addressing and coordinating discussions about substantial technological issues, recently held a session dedicated to exploring Open RAN (Radio Access Network) in Kyoto, Japan. These discussions revolved around the advantages, potential challenges, and opportunities associated with Open RAN. A key element highlighted in the conversation was the potential for supplier diversification presented by the implementation of this groundbreaking technology.

Furthermore, the profound importance of 5G technology had a significant presence in the deliberations, espousing its indispensability in enabling everyday activities seamlessly. Amplifying this point, both the public and private sectors in Japan are showing intensive joint efforts towards the nationwide deployment of 5G networks. This united endeavour underscores the vital impact that telecommunication structures like 5G carry on infrastructure developments and future growth.

In contributing to these discussions, the insightful report from the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) presented a comprehensive evaluation surrounding the security risks tied to Open RAN technology. Released in May, this report was based on objective research and extensive technical demonstrations. The investigation emphasised the critical requirement for including security considerations at the forefront of Open RAN discourse, advocating the need for robust planning and strategic risk mitigation against potential threats.

Interestingly, the report’s conclusions provided positive insights. While Open RAN doesn’t fundamentally shift the security risk landscape for telecommunications, the study found that the technology offers significant cybersecurity advantages. Open RAN’s inherent transparency could grant mobile network operators increased control and management over their networks, without extensive reliance on system vendors. The research also revealed a fascinating fact that a mere 4% of security risks are exclusive to Open RAN. However, even as it cultivates a sense of security, the report strongly recommended that these risks are manageable and can be mitigated through the proposed strategies in the report.

In summary, the discourse at the IGF, the concentrated efforts towards 5G networks, and the findings of the QUAD’s security report, all point towards a future of telecommunications in which technologies like Open RAN and 5G are pivotal. Despite the landscape being fraught with challenges, feasible solutions exist to assure an efficient and secure telecommunications infrastructure.

Jaisha Wray

The development and deployment of open radio access networks (Open RAN) have emerged as a strategic priority for the US government, reflecting positive alignment with SDG 9, which encourages the establishment of a robust techno-infrastructure base and the promotion of innovation. The potential of Open RAN to enhance security, improve performance, and offer cost-efficiencies is widely recognised. Entities such as the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences in Boulder, Colorado, are actively engaged in Open RAN-related research, underpinning the active role of the US government in this sphere.

In a bid to catalyse the advancement of Open RAN, the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund has been established. Despite a lack of detailed information regarding the functioning and focus of the Fund, its existence signifies proactive financial support from public authorities to promote Open RAN’s development, deployment, and implementation. This aims to fortify the infrastructure required for sustainable industries, thereby aligning with the goals of SDG 9.

Whilst the crucial role of government support and involvement in escalating Open RAN is noted, consensus advocates that the initiative should be industry-driven, thus enabling greater industry responsibility and engagement. In this regard, the O-RAN Alliance has taken a leading role in establishing a network of research and development labs on a global scale. Emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach to innovation, the O-RAN Alliance incorporates a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including mobile operators, vendors, and research and academic institutions.

International co-operation and collaboration are also gaining momentum as demonstrated by initiatives like the Quad, reinforcing international partnerships in alignment with SDG 17. Collaborations between Operational Technology Innovations Centres (OTICs), labs, industry, and government are viewed as instrumental in overcoming challenges.

An inclination towards a multi-stakeholder strategy in telecom ecosystems is progressively gaining acceptance. This includes the fostering of open dialogue and collaboration across academic institutions, government bodies, and various industries. Such an approach ensures an equitable and inclusive framework, aligning with SDG 10, which seeks to reduce inequalities, and echoing the essence of multi-stakeholder co-operation implicit under SDG 17.

In summary, the evolution towards open radio access networks offers a transformative opportunity to reshape the dynamics of technological development and implementation. Given the significant stakeholder investment in Open RAN’s successful progression, both nationally and globally, it may soon emerge as the frontrunner initiative revolutionising the digital world.

Perreira da Silva

Perreira da Silva’s Open Testing and Integration Centre (OTIC), based in Washington D.C., is an integral part of the North American OTIC. This globally recognised service commands a unique position as it is embedded within an academic infrastructure. Major carriers supporting its endeavours include industry stalwarts such as AT&T, Verizon, and DISH.

The OTIC has identified three core areas for its focus: conformance tests, performance tests, and interoperability tests – essential components in ensuring up-to-par standards within the industry. A commitment to these core areas highlights the centre’s dedication to maintaining and improving the standards of the rapidly evolving telecommunications industry.

In line with its academic orientation, the OTIC capitalises on its practical laboratory set up for workforce development. Specifically, in relation to Open Radio Access Networks (O-RAN), it provides engineers with invaluable hands-on practical experience. This unique approach speaks to SDG 4: Quality Education, aligning technological innovation with academia to foster the growth of a laboratory workforce required for future advancements in O-RAN.

Long-term plans of the OTIC demonstrate the centre’s adaptability and foresightedness. They plan to issue badge certifications – an innovative approach to validate the specific skills and expertise gained during the period of training, further solidifying their stature in the field, and ensuring high standards of testing and verification within the O-RAN ecosystem.

Another noteworthy aspect of the OTIC in Washington D.C. is its vendor and multi-vendor testing services for disaggregate radio-based, radio-access networking. This not only caters to the commercial sector but also underscores OTIC’s position at the juncture of academia and commercial vendor testing. It also evidences their adaptability in addressing diverse needs within the industry.

Further reinforcement of OTIC’s versatility is seen in the suggestion that open-source frameworks should be effectively functional within the commercial Central Unit (CU), and User-defined RAN Units (UNRU). Implementing these changes could be enormously beneficial, encouraging innovation and keeping pace with rapidly evolving technologies in the dynamic telecommunications industry.

Moreover, OTIC entities are exploring collaboration on a grand scale. They highlight the need to pool resources and jointly develop a minimum viable testing package that can be universally applied. Achieving this could significantly improve field testing capabilities and ensure quality standards. Ultimately, this could pave the way for an automated testing environment, encouraging efficiency, and furthering innovation.

Automated testing comes with an array of advantages, including cost control and a potential reduction in the time it takes to get products to market. This aligns with two of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. The push towards automation harmonises with these goals, demonstrating OTIC’s commitment to creating economic growth and endorsing industry innovation. Therefore, Perreira da Silva’s OTIC serves as a prime example of how academic institutions can effectively interact with the commercial sector to bolster technological advancements.

Tony Queck

Tony Quek presently directs the Beyond 5G (B5G) National Programme in Singapore. Additionally, he steers the Open Testing and Integration Centre (OTIC), announced at the Mobile World Congress in February. Embedded within the Future Communications Initiative, OTIC prioritises security, multi-vendor testing, and sustainability.

Guided by Quek, OTIC plan to augment its capabilities, which involves widening its testing scope to encompass Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs). Quek’s buoyant outlook foreshadows potential avenues for Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) vendors within the NTN ecosystem, with detailed plans anticipated in the upcoming year.

OTIC intends to amplify its three focal capabilities: robust security testing, creating fuzzy attack root cause analysis tools, and conducting exhaustive sustainability testing. Demonstrating its proficiency, OTIC has already launched the Radio Interface Group (RIG) tester, highlighting its capacity to perform RIG Risk Assessment and Prioritisation (RAPs) testing across multiple interfaces.

Regarding future cellular network generations, emphasis is placed on the pivotal role of OTICs in providing solutions beyond 5G and 6G. In line with industry-wide progression, efforts are geared towards the normalisation and mutual recognition amongst OTICs, rather than instigating competition.

Illustrating exceptional leadership, Quek hosted a global OTIC summit in August to foster international collaboration and synergy among OTICs. This reflects a positive perspective towards collaboration over competition amongst industry leaders.

Investments in remote access are underscored, along with solidifying partnerships with educational institutions, such as the University of Surrey B5G centre. Further cultivating academic integration, Quek is set to collaborate with the Open RAN Academy in the Philippines and the Northeastern University OTIC.

Finally, Quek advocates a model of resource sharing and is diligently defining a “minimum viable profile” for various services. This strategy optimises resource usage and establishes standardised service profiles across the industry. Consequently, Quek and his team at OTIC aim to promote progress within the industry, thereby contributing towards several Sustainable Development Goals, predominantly SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, and SDG 13: Climate Action.

Mitsuhiro Hishida

Open RAN was the significant topic of debate due to its perceived advantages, challenges, and potential impacts on the cost efficiency, energy efficiency, and particularly, security sectors. An insightful report, highlighting the crucial role secure and stable infrastructure plays in realising an ideal Internet connection, was considered in these discussions. Open RAN, as a technology, was recognised for its potential capacity to deliver this aspirational state of the Internet, which is inclusive and free from fragmentation.

Security concerns associated with the implementation of open RAN were notably addressed. Apprehensions arose over the introduction of new interfaces, which could present security challenges due to a larger exposure to threats. Nonetheless, there was an optimistic belief that these complications could be overcome by utilising advanced and innovative technologies.

From a broader perspective, open RAN was identified as an influential tool in invigorating competition, fueling innovation, and optimising resources, critical in enhancing digital capabilities in rural communities. Its framework invites an increased number of players into the field, promoting healthy competition and invariably encouraging innovation. However, the dawn of this technology era also brings concerns. With the transparency that open RAN introduces, it implies that operators may need to shoulder more responsibility and gain more knowledge about the system’s numerous components.

Financial implications were brought to light as the advent of open RAN might cause a short-term, cost-intensive multivendor system due to the initial, substantial investment needed. However, open RAN was argued to potentially be more cost-effective in the long-term due to its inherent benefits of flexibility and resource optimisation, which maximises investment returns over time.

Further concerns were raised over the potential environmental impact of new interfaces, possibly leading to a more costly scenario than traditional practices due to potential repercussions on energy efficiency. The prospective increase in energy demands due to these new interfaces presents a valid concern that needs to be addressed proactively.

The differing opinions and stances concerning the implementation of open RAN served as key evidence for the need to reassess roles and responsibilities between carriers and vendors. As open RAN demands more system insight from operators, it could potentially affect the dynamic between carriers and vendors.

The panel discussion was excellently received, boasting participants from diverse geographical locations, including Asia, the U.S., Japan, and Europe. The diverse panel enhanced the quality and balance of the discussion, accommodating the viewpoints of varied professional backgrounds, ranging from telecom carriers and vendors to operators contemplating the introduction of open RAN.

In conclusion, the future of open RAN looks promising. Despite the challenges addressed in the discussions, the panelists held a positive outlook on future developments and the potential of open RAN. This optimism was shared by Mitsuhiro Hishida, a testament to the industry’s collective belief in open RAN’s transformative capability and its potential as a backbone of technological advancement.

Roderick S. Santiago

Roderick S. Santiago is currently leading the fixed and wireless network operations at PLDT Smart. He has demonstrated a fervent interest in the application of open RAN (Radio Access Networks) and has been conducting an extensive array of trials on this technology in conjunction with their partner, NTD Docomo. Santiago exudes positivity when discussing future implementations of open RAN with NTD Docomo, indicating a potential positive development in the industry and in alignment with ‘SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’.

Santiago acknowledges the emergence of new security issues accompanying open-run technology. However, he firmly believes these challenges are manageable and can be surmounted with robust regulatory frameworks, industry collaborations, and stakeholder engagement. He advocates the introduction of open-run technologies, viewing them as opportunities despite the initial challenges.

The long-term perks, according to Santiago, are significant. He stated that while open RAN might initially incur greater costs during the transition phase, in the long run, it provides finesse in resource optimisation, uncovers opportunities for more innovative ways to maximise investment, and offers cumulative potential benefits. Leveraging open RAN’s capabilities also contributes towards ‘SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production’.

According to Santiago, open RAN can play a pivotal role in internet governance by boosting both transparency and accountability. He envisages a future where open RAN not only triggers advancements in low-power consumption equipment but also leads to optimal resource usage, aligning with ‘SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy’ and ‘SDG 13: Climate Action’.

Moreover, he emphasised that energy management forms a crucial pillar of his network vision and conveyed a commitment to further reduce energy consumption. Santiago is hopeful that implementing open RAN can expedite the realisation of energy-efficient networks whilst simultaneously increasing their coverage and capacity.

Regarding human capacity building, Santiago stresses the importance of continuous learning and knowledge sharing, especially in understanding the implementation and cost-effectiveness of open RAN. He is actively participating in global discussions on open RAN and is collaborating with NTT Docomo for knowledge sharing. Santiago also supports the development of the ‘Open RAN Academy’ to nurture a set of engineers expert in Open RAN, emphasing planning for continuous learning for this and the next year, aligning with ‘SDG 4: Quality Education’ and ‘SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth’.

In conclusion, Santiago’s views and actions pertaining to open RAN and fixed networks clearly work towards not just the advancement of PLDT Smart’s own network ambitions but also significantly contribute towards achieving several Sustainable Development Goals.

Christopher Price

In the realm of telecommunications, Ericsson as an enterprise has displayed a keen commitment to ongoing technological advancements, particularly in relation to open RAN and O-RAN technologies. The company has projected a positive sentiment towards these developments, reinforcing their dedication through substantial contributions to the open-run security community. Ericsson’s strategy involves leveraging existing technologies while progressively introducing innovative elements such as artificial intelligence, cloudification, and advanced 5G.

In terms of expanding the network infrastructure, Ericsson is dynamically reshaping its product portfolio. This evolution is aimed at creating an adaptable ecosystem built on competitive capabilities, pursuing cost-effectiveness, and delivering efficient services. A key element of this vision is the integration of 5G technology, which is expected to revolutionise industry standards and stimulate enterprise mobility.

However, these ambitious advancements come with challenges, primarily focused on issues of security, compliance, and rigorous adherence to global standards. As the technology landscape continues to mature, Ericsson is dealing with an increasingly intricate network infrastructure. The advent of 5G technology has augmented these challenges, with the technology encompassing over a hundred open interfaces, each requiring standardisation, fortification, and stringent security measures.

Simultaneously, Ericsson is making significant strides in energy conservation. The company has set an ambitious target of reducing power consumption in its 5G base stations by 40% compared to 4G levels. To achieve targeted power performance savings, Ericsson insists on the necessity for dedicated silicon solutions, citing the inadequacy of general-purpose processors in meeting these energy efficiency targets.

While integrating new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) into the RAN ecosystem, Ericsson has understood and acknowledged the complex aspects involved in the process. This involves integrating different components within the national network, a task that requires considerable effort, time, and a universally compliant set of global standards.

Despite a journey strewn with complicated hurdles, Ericsson remains optimistic about the future. It anticipates improved O-RAN performance and envisions a heterogeneous network landscape with diverse implementations and trade-offs depending on individual deployment scenarios.

In conclusion, Ericsson’s approach to network development emphasises a balance between individual decision-making and collective commitment. The company encourages independent decision-making while nurturing a collaborative atmosphere and promoting learning from peers. In this evolving digital era, maintaining robust cybersecurity is a top priority for Ericsson, driving its active involvement in diligent network building alongside partners, vendors, and even competitors. Through a combination of innovation, diligence, and collaboration, Ericsson aspires to lead the way in transforming telecommunications for a brighter, more connected future.

Kasar Mahesh

Rakuten Mobile, a subsidiary of Rakuten Symphony, operates the world’s first fully virtualised cloud-native network based on open Radio Access Network (RAN) technology. Having launched in 2020, it has gathered over five million subscribers and offers coverage to 98% of the population in Japan. These significant achievements underline their positive influence in advancing the Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

Their open RAN technology has been verified as effective and is being utilised to create a new network in Germany. As per Mahesh Kasar’s stance, this groundbreaking technology will shape the future by promoting a democratisation of the network and communication structure. The implication is that open RAN technology can enhance connectivity, particularly in remote areas lacking any G connectivity, thereby promoting human development and helping to reduce inequalities, aligning with respective SDGs.

Rakuten has crafted the world’s largest fully virtualised open-run network and has integrated rigorous security protocols within it. Their approach encompasses a pragmatic, zero-trust, zero-touch strategy. Practices adopted from the enterprise IT segment, such as utilising robust identity certificates, defining security parameters, segmenting network elements and visualising network activities, have been incorporated to fortify their network security, further instilling confidence in open RAN technology.

In aiming for economic efficiency, Rakuten Mobile has pioneered an open architecture approach involving a multi-vendor ecosystem. This division of hardware and software has enabled the virtualisation of network components, subsequently lowering costs. Notably, Rakuten has reportedly saved 40% on capital expenditure and 30% on operational expenditure, through the introduction of a multiband system encouraging competition between infrastructure providers.

In addition to financial savings, Rakuten’s open RAN technologies contribute to reducing energy consumption, thus fulfilling their commitment to Affordable and Clean Energy and Responsible Consumption and Production SDGs. The segregation of software and hardware lessens hardware use, conserving energy. Rakuten additionally employs RAN intelligent controllers and utilises Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart meters to constantly monitor energy consumption, which facilitates further optimisation.

Rakuten Mobile places immense importance on sustainable innovation and carbon emission reduction, aiming for a net-zero future. Their approach includes optimising data centres and servers to further decrease energy consumption, thus aligning with the Climate Action SDG. Aside from prioritising environmental concerns, they also value diversity, boasting a team comprising skilled professionals from 70 different countries, clearly illustrating their dedication to reducing inequalities.

Concentration on education and quality training is a prominent aspect of Rakuten’s operations. Through their Learning Hub, they train their staff on open RAN-based technologies. Complementing this, they support the Asia Open RAN Academy in the Philippines, offering training to telecom engineers on open RAN technologies. These efforts crystallise Rakuten’s commitment to Quality Education and Partnerships for the Goals SDGs, proving their dedication to promoting continuous learning and collaboration.

Alex Weber

Led by the Future Connectivity Team, the Australian Government is demonstrating robust support for emerging technologies such as Open RAN. Recognised for its potential to provide more cost-effective mobile telecommunications solutions, Open RAN stands out as a promising alternative to single-vendor solutions. This support aligns with the government’s commitment to fostering an open, interoperable, secure, and transparent telecommunications market.

Efforts to diversify Australia’s national telecommunications supply chain are proactively under way. As part of these endeavours, the government has endorsed various statements such as prior proposals on telecommunications supply diversity and the Quad Memorandum of Cooperation on 5G supply diversification in Open RAN. This proactive engagement underscores the government’s commitment to the broad deployment of Open RAN and its corresponding benefits.

One significant domestic initiative worth noting is the establishment of the Secure-G Connectivity Test Lab. Expected to be operational by mid-2024, this facility aims to offer an environment where industry can thoroughly test their equipment, standards, software, and protocols. The development of such a lab underscores the government’s drive to bolster technology supply chain security and resilience, signifying a crucial shift towards mitigating supply-chain risks.

The government has adopted a cooperative stance regarding lab activities, a move that supports SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). Shared testing methodologies at the global level have the potential to accelerate development timeframes and enhance telecommunications integration and consistency.

Moreover, there’s a broader push to extend engagement across the testing ecosystem. Collaboration with Open Testing and Integration Centres (OTICs) is an evident instance of this, alongside active partnership with government counterparts in the US and UK, and research institutions. These international collaborations highlight Australia’s commitment to SDG 17 (Partitions for the Goals), embodying a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach to bolstering telecommunications security.

Collaborative research is being conducted with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) to develop next-generation telecommunications security requirements. This research, geared towards developing secure protocols for interoperable virtualised telecommunications technologies, will establish a sovereign evidence base that the industry can utilise as a foundation to build upon.

In conclusion, the Australian Government’s comprehensive engagement with Open RAN and its dedication to diversifying the national telecommunications supply chain underscore a strategic commitment towards nurturing the telecommunications sector. Supported by a cooperative global approach and emphasis on research, this portrays a promising picture of Australia’s progressive stance towards telecommunications security, innovation, and infrastructure.

James Grayling

Vodafone has emerged as a market leader within Europe for the implementation and advancement of open RAN (Radio Access Network) technology. This development process spans an impressive seven to eight years, highlighting a firm commitment towards continual innovation in this sphere. Further evidence of their practical focus can be seen in the deployment of numerous sites across the UK, showcasing the contextual applicability of open RAN within a standardised telecommunications network.

Open RAN technology has the potential to address pressing security challenges in the telecommunications sector. This is achieved through the systematic breakdown of each component of the stack, ensuring adherence to standards and thereby amplifying transparency and security within the network. Complementing this approach, Vodafone has advocated for heightened vendor vigilance in security as part of their “secure by design” philosophy and supports comprehensive third-party penetration tests on all components of any system.

Looking at broader industry evolution, the integration of automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and platforms such as Service Management and Orchestration (SMO), RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC), and xApps and rApps are poised to transform the operational landscape. These advancements facilitate customer-friendly capabilities that benefit both operators and customers, leading to increased efficiency in meeting specific user requirements. Significantly, automation has proven effective in reducing operating costs, thanks to its ability to optimise network performance and predict potential component failures.

Furthermore, open RAN fosters a vibrant competitive environment in the market, potentially leading to lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for operators. The increased competition this environment nurtures invariably reduces costs, influencing both hardware providers and traditional RAN systems alike.

There are also greener implications in incorporating Open RAN technology. With competitive energy consumption rates, O-RAN Infrastructure Units (IUs) provide a more efficient and sustainable option for network operations when compared to traditional RAN systems, with particular focus on servers and Digital Unit (DU) areas.

Collaboration has emerged as a crucial aspect of this industry evolution. With a visible shift towards collective effort over the past few years, the implementation of open RAN technology cannot be executed by singular vendors, operators, or suppliers, instead reinforcing the need for efficient collaboration and mutual understanding. Equally essential is the transfer of knowledge and skills in the adoption of O-RAN technology, an important pillar in this fledgeling field.

In conclusion, Vodafone’s pioneering journey in open RAN deployment has enabled secure and efficient commercial operations, yielding widespread benefits for all stakeholders. The transformative potential of open RAN, unlocked through innovations in AI, automation, and enhanced security practices, is being harnessed in an industry culture that prizes collaboration and knowledge-sharing. This powerful mix promises a thriving future for open RAN technology, marked by boosting competition, delivering best-in-class solutions for diverse environments, and significantly contributing to energy efficiency.

Satou Naoto

Fujitsu is advancing its preparations for 2025 by leveraging powerful innovations derived from Beyond 5G optics wireless technology, artificial intelligence, and deep learning. The company is focused on enhancing and building intelligence into O-RAN technology. This is being done with a broader objective, to support the convergence of various devices and services, harnessing advancements from the software technology sector for improved integrations.

Openness and Open RAN, a significant trend in the field, are seen as mechanisms for transforming mobile networks. They inspire a surge in IT technology growth. This inclusive approach opens doors for more IT engineers to join the mobile network industry, thus expanding its foundational support and stimulating innovation for societal benefits.

Fujitsu is also formulating strategies to combat escalating power consumption issues, an outcome of increasingly advanced technology usage worldwide. The company is demonstrating its dedication to sustainable development by focusing on creating a greener, more sustainable infrastructure. This not only embodies their adherence to clean energy practices but also aligns with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 7 and 13, promoting affordable clean energy and climate action, respectively.

From a vendor’s perspective, Fujitsu is concentrating on integrating security into their software development process. This ‘security by design’ approach signifies a proactive commitment to ensuring user data protection and network safety, thereby elevating the overall standard of security in the technology sector.

The ongoing evolution of hardware technology influences cost-effectiveness while facilitating traditional RAN optimisation. By capitalising on cutting-edge devices, Fujitsu seeks to enhance performance and energy saving. In an industry where device evolution is rapid, the usage of technologies shared by other sectors, like servers, is perceived as a cost-effective strategy.

Moreover, Fujitsu acknowledges the importance of striking a balance between openness and sophistication when defining more implementable Open RAN standardisation. To optimise energy efficiency and control over resources, the company is inclining towards data centre centralisation and the use of cloud-native solutions. Fujitsu’s initiatives in Open RAN standardisation, hardware-software disaggregation, and involvement with Open RAN and virtual RAN integration projects further solidify Fujitsu’s stance as an industry leader in promoting innovation and infrastructure development, aligning with SDG 9.

In conclusion, Fujitsu is powering forward with a holistic, integrative and sustainable approach to meet the evolving needs of the industry. By strategically positioning itself within the 5G, AI, and deep learning landscape, and demonstrating a commitment to Open RAN, green technology, and robust security measures, Fujitsu confidently strides towards a new era of excellence in industry innovation and infrastructure.

Torigoe Yushi

OpenLAN, a technological innovation that frames open specifications for differentiated segments of local area networks (LAN), is receiving positive attention due to its inherent benefits of cost efficiency and accelerated technological progression. Promising facets of this invention include the potential for resiliency in networks, by granting individual parts of the system room for upgrades. Additionally, OpenLAN is recognised for its capacity to spur venture involvement and address pressing issues surrounding safety and supply chain logistics.

Established in 2018, the O-LAN Alliance demonstrates a robust coalition of over 300 member organisations, working towards the creation of the next generation of open, sophisticated wireless access networks. The Alliance boasts members from Europe, America, and Asia, inclusive of 30 mobile network operators, suggesting a vast global influence on telecommunication practices.

Contributing significantly to these advancements is the Japan OTIC, supported collaboratively by NTT DoCoMo and Rakuten Mobile. Situated in Yokosuka Research Park Centre, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, Japan OTIC continually aids in advancing O-LAN specifications, thereby aiding the development of open, intelligent, virtualised, and secure radio access networks. An important achievement was realised in June when NEC, a globally recognised vendor, was awarded its initial certificate from Japan OTIC.

International coordination and collaborations have a huge bearing on this landscape, considered integral to the development and progression of open radio access networks. Yushi, a key player, accentuates their importance, attributing the reshaping of radio access networks to the global efforts of the O-LAN Alliance. This alliance, composed of mobile operators, vendors, as well as academic and research institutions worldwide, has been critical to this industry transformation. Moreover, testing centres like OTICs, which provide an open, collaborative, and vendor-independent environment, are essential to the expansion of the O-RAN sector.

The contribution OTIC will make to encourage the responsible utilisation of AI and emerging technology is still under consideration. It’s worth noting that O-RAN has only been around for nearly five years, and at present, OTIC’s certification badges primarily deal with conformance, interoperability, and end-to-end parameters. Plans are currently underway to introduce a security badge as an additional certification for OTIC, denoting an ongoing adaptation in this space.

Additional arguments suggest mitigating the digital gap by reducing the procurement costs of communication infrastructure. Concurrently, sustainability benefits drawn from energy savings in communication equipment are noted for their contribution to a better environmental outlook. The potential environmental impact of these technologies aligns with wider sustainable goals throughout the global community, underpinning the importance of this technological course.

Improving efficiency in OTIC testing and certification remains a pressing challenge, even as motivation to achieve OTIC approval rises among vendors. The sharing of best practices within OTICs is highly revered, showing successful measures in fostering efficient testing and certification methods. Regularly convening meetings and summits, such as the Global OTIC Summit in Singapore and a meeting in Osaka hosted by a Japanese telecom operator, are applauded for promoting consistent exchange of information among OTICs.

To conclude, the overall sentiment leans positively towards the push for collaboration in the realm of open network development, with the O-LAN Alliance and OTIC at the forefront. Together, they’ve established an inclusive environment encouraging the open exchange of information and techniques and facilitating an efficient testing and certification process for vendors. By maintaining focus on sustainability and cost efficiency, the ongoing advancements hold promise for a positive future within the Open RAN, 5G, and broader Telecommunications sector.

Anil Umesh

In his analysis, Anil Umesh recognises the significant potential of Open RAN technology in fostering a vibrant supplier ecosystem. He believes this ecosystem, by encouraging the emergence of various innovative vendors and providers, paves the way for a secure and stable delivery of internet services. Crucially, this aligns perfectly with SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), and could be instrumental in achieving reduced inequalities, thereby adhering to SDG 10.

Open RAN’s role in promoting an inclusive internet infrastructure is of key importance. As per Umesh, the technology supports a free, unified and unbiased internet, given that it propels diverse suppliers to deliver superior services. Although the introduction of novel interfaces by Open RAN does present security challenges, it is significant to affirm that transparent specifications and standards within Open RAN can counteract this. This transparency, in turn, can result in security enhancements, aligning with the technology’s overarching objective of stable internet services.

Furthermore, the participation of newcomers in the Open RAN sphere could introduce innovative solutions that can effectively tackle the security challenges. Given inherent security issues linked with technology, such potential for improved security is indeed noteworthy.

A primary advantage of Open RAN and VRAN resides in their cost-effectiveness. The introduction of these technologies by Entity Tokomo since the beginning of 5G in 2020 has prompted competition, yielding cost benefits. Despite the potential for additional costs introduced by the new aspects of Open RAN and VRAN, the overall benefit in terms of costs is evident, representing a net gain for entities like Tokomo.

Open RAN’s energy efficiency is another compelling case for its adoption. With continuous advancements in hardware such as CPUs and servers, more energy-efficient components have emerged. Further, software advancements like Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) and automation tools can manage hardware and reduce energy consumption in Open RAN.

Finally, the advent of Open RAN is leading to a shift in roles between carriers and vendors. There’s a transformation towards increased transparency and active participation for operators. This change could pose notable challenges for entities with fewer resources, as they may grapple with system integration in the face of the need for heightened communication with emerging IT vendors.

In conclusion, despite potential challenges, Open RAN technology presents significant benefits – be it in generating an inclusive internet, providing security, or offering cost and energy efficiencies. The technology’s extensive potential renders it crucial for the industry, vendors, and suppliers, guaranteeing an inclusive, energy-conscious, and cost-effective future.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you. Thanks a lot. Thank you for coming to the open run session at IGF. This is Hiroo Takaoka from MIC. We have excellent panelists and moderators from Japan, the US, and from around the globe. So first, this session consists of two panel discussions. First one is about a panel discussion on the advantage, challenge, and potential of overrun. And the second one is a cooperation with OTICS. So I would like to start off from the first panel. So before that, let us have opening remarks from DG of Global Strategy Bureau of MIC, Tawara Yasuo.

Tawara Yasuo:
Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Tawara Yasuo, Minister of Internet Affairs and Communications, Japan. It’s a great pleasure for us to host the IGF and to hold OpenSecure 5G and supplier diversification session here in Kyoto. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all from related companies and organizations for their efforts in organizing this session. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all the participants for their interest in this session. Telecommunications infrastructure, such as 5G, is becoming more and more important every day and is backbone infrastructure that underpins our social and economic activities. In Japan, the public and private sectors are working together to deploy nationwide networks so that advanced service can be provided stably while ensuring the safety and reliability of the supply chain of facility, including base stations. In this sense, I’m convinced that the public-private session today are very meaningful. We have two panel discussions in this session. The first panel, the panelists will discuss open RAN’s advantages, challenges, and potentials. The second one, they will discuss collaboration between governments and autics and training laboratories. Let me start off by briefly introducing the open RAN security report. The open RAN security report was released in May this year by QUAD, Australia, India, Japan, United States, critical and emerging technologies working groups. Again, the backdrop of growing interest in open RAN, in which security risks were pointed out due to the diversification of interfaces and components. Since security is considered to be one of the major challenges in implementing open RAN, this report aimed to objectively evaluate security issues and potential mitigation measures. This 160-page report analyzes the advantages, challenges, and possibilities of overcoming challenges of open RAN compared to traditional RAN through objective research and analysis, including technical demonstration. This report points out the following three points. First one is open RAN offers important cybersecurity advantages due to improved transparency or visibility. It means a mobile network operator can control and manage its network more easily, not depending on system vendors. Second, most of the risks attributed to open RAN are common to those in traditional RAN as well. Based on our analysis through technical demonstrations, only 4% of the security risks are unique to open RAN. And finally, these risks, which are inherent in open RAN, can be mitigated and managed through recommendations presented in the report. A security checklist is attached as appendix. By meeting the security requirements of the standards and checklists, we can achieve the security levels equivalent to traditional RAN. Based on these considerations, this report considers that use of open RAN does not fundamentally alter the security risk landscape for telecommunications compared to traditional RAN. This is a brief introduction to this report. In today’s session, based on the contents of the report, I hope that representatives of the companies and relevant organisations from the various countries will engage in active discussions on the potential and challenges of open RAN from various perspectives. Thank you.

Speaker 1:
Thank you, D.G. Tawara. So now I would like to pass the floor to Mr. Hishida, moderator.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Hello. It’s very nice to be here. My name is Mitsuhiro Hishida from MIC Japan. Until July, I was working for the Global Strategy Bureau, and now I’m based in Kanazawa. Kanazawa is a regional city in Hokuriku region, two hours and a half ride from here. This morning, I came with this limited train, express, and I came here. It’s a great pleasure to be back in such a setting. Today, we have two panels. The first panel, I’ll be the moderator. The second panel will be chaired by Ms. Jisha Ray, who is one of my good friends. So in my first panel, I’d like to discuss the advantages, challenges, and potentials of open RAN. As Mr. D.G. Tawara mentioned in his opening remark, we published the open RAN security report, which focuses on the security aspect of this open RAN. But in this panel, we talk not only about security aspects, but also we talk about, for example, the cost, respect the cost, and also the energy efficiency and so on. With such advantages and disadvantages and some challenges, I hope we can conclude some positive messages from this panel. Let me first introduce our panelists. From my left side, Mr. Umesh from NT Docomo. Next, we have Mr. Santiago from the Philippines. Also, we have Chris from Ericsson. Mr. Sato from Fujitsu. And lastly, we have Mr. Mehesh from Rakuten Symphony. First, I’d like to ask each of the panelists to make some opening remarks, and then I’d like to go to the panel discussion. First, Mr. Umesh, please.

Anil Umesh:
Thank you. My name is Anil Umesh from NTD Docomo. I have been working on open RAN, the topic of this session, for some time, and I’m very pleased to have this opportunity to attend this session today.

Roderick S. Santiago:
Konnichiwa, Eric Santiago from the Philippines. I’m in charge of the fixed and wireless network of PLDT Smart, and we’ve been doing a lot of trials and open RAN with our partner, NTD Docomo, in the past several months, and we’re looking forward for more implementation later on. Thank you.

Christopher Price:
Hello, my name is Christopher Price. I’m representing Ericsson from the CTO office of Ericsson. For us, those who follow the news, we’ve recently made some strong announcements about our support for open RAN and O-RAN technologies. We have an incumbent portfolio which we are looking to make sure that we can evolve. We can create opportunities for new technologies, for new ecosystems to come into existing networks. We think it’s very important that we don’t branch off into separate tracks. We think it’s very important. It’s very important to make sure that we maintain a cohesive communications infrastructure solution as we emerge through new and emerging technologies that O-RAN brings, such as cloudification and the enablement of artificial intelligence in networks. For us, we’re very pleased to be here to talk about open RAN, to talk about not only the security concerns and considerations, but also the opportunities that open RAN brings. Thank you.

Satou Naoto:
This is Naoto Sato from Fujitsu. Fujitsu is using the Beyond 5G optics wireless and software technology to create cloud-native solutions toward 2025. Fujitsu’s key initiative is O-RAN technology to drive open RAN and virtual RAN and also building the intelligence into that, allowing various devices and services to be converged, combined by leveraging the automation derived from cutting-edge AI and deep learning as well as security technologies. The last one may be the green technology. We’re also aiming to limit increasing power consumption by building the sustainable infrastructure. Today, I’m really happy to discuss it with you. Thank you very much.

Kasar Mahesh:
Good afternoon. Good afternoon. I’m Mahesh Kasar from Rakuten Symphony. It’s a subsidiary of Rakuten Mobile. Rakuten Mobile is the world’s first fully virtualized cloud-native open RAN-based network. We launched in 2020. We have 5 million plus subscribers in Japan, covering 98% of the population of the Japanese territory. The technology has been proven now, and we have also started building a new network in Germany based on open RAN technologies. We can authoritarily say that this is the technology of the future where we need to lead the democratization of network and communication structure. Looking forward to that discussion today. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Actually, we have also one panelist online, so I’d like to call on Mr. James Grayling. Mr. Grayling, are you there?

James Grayling:
Konnichiwa. Can you hear me? Yes, please. Go ahead, please. Thank you very much, everybody. Really a shame that I can’t be with you today. I’m still in the UK and unfortunately couldn’t travel to Japan today. But I’m representing Vodafone. We are market leaders in Europe for open RAN. We’ve been on this journey now for the last seven to eight years, testing many components in the open RAN space, understanding the security challenges and concerns. But we’re at the point now where we’ve deployed a number of sites in the UK in the open RAN stack and evolving that now to other markets across Europe. So very good to be here today. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. With these panelists, we are going to have the panel discussion today. So first question I’d like to pose to each panelist is actually the relationship between this IGF and this panel. As you know, we are now in an IGF, and the theme of this IGF is Internet We Want. So what kind of Internet we want? In my idea, it’s a free Internet, free connection, being inclusive, no fragmentation, and so on. But actually, to achieve such a free Internet, accessible Internet, we need to have a secure, stable Internet connection. In this sense, I think infrastructure is very important, and open RAN is the technology to enable such a stable, secure Internet. This is my idea, but I’d like to ask each of the panelists very quickly about how do you think about this relationship between the Internet we want and our open RAN technologies?

Anil Umesh:
Thank you, Hishida-san, for the very good question that we should think about. From my point of view, in open RAN, what we see is, yes, first of all, the openness does lead to, we think, inclusion in the sense that we want to see more new and innovative vendors and providers to be emerging, and we would also like to see, together with the existing vendors, that this would help to provide a vibrant supplier ecosystem. And through this, we hope to be able to deliver better services, like in terms of, Hishida-san, you mentioned, secure and stable. But in the end, this is our goal. And in the requirements getting more diverse, we think it’s more important to have a good supplier ecosystem to provide this kind of secure, stable Internet. And we think open RAN is very important for this. Thank you very much.

Roderick S. Santiago:
Alright, thanks for the question. For me, open RAN can contribute to Internet governance by the increase in transparency and accountability. I think those are two very important things as we proceed with open RAN. Transparency and accountability. By doing so, you will increase also the innovation in the field, right? We will minimize vendor lock-in. In that way, we could also support sustainability later on because of that innovation will trigger more low-power consumption, equipment, and with that competition, it will just benefit the end user. Thank you.

Christopher Price:
Thank you. So, I’ll take a slightly different approach to the question. I think if I look back in time, 3G, we first got the Internet to the mobile phone. And in 4G, the Internet sort of became utilized through the mobile phone. In 5G, we’re driving industrialization of the Internet. We’re trying to bring new capabilities and engage enterprise on mobility in the Internet. And I think this is a huge change for us as an industry. The role open RAN plays and can play here is to… to create those ecosystems where we’re able to compete on capabilities, efficiency, price, of course. But not only that, it could also introduce artificial intelligence into the network and into how the network is able to make decisions as we address more and more complex internet capabilities on the mobile internet. So I see Open RAN playing a number of roles as a technology evolution champion for various aspects of how we bring 5G forwards and how we make it easier to use and how we better serve society.

Satou Naoto:
Satoru, please. Yes. So openness and Open RAN allows us to transfer the mobile network from, in fact, the one we have is really limited vendors and the companies can participate to create and maintain the mobile networks. From into the one which is more open, I mean that IT technology combining the city, I mean mobile network kind of communication technology. And IT technology should be more used in communication technology, which means that the IT technology market is continuously growing. So those kind of IT engineers can join the mobile networks, which means that the foundation supporting the mobile network can also grow. It means that we believe in that reading the inclusiveness and the sustainability in the future. So I think this is possible. And if that foundation is grow, then we have more possibility to have innovation in the future. So as a consequence, this brings good things in our society. Thank you very much.

Kasar Mahesh:
Yes, please. Mr. Umeh. Thank you, Shizu-san. In my view, I’m a strong believer of the connectivity as a critical factor for development of human potential. And there is a human potential which has not had access to the internet and the communication technologies yet. It has been dominated by a closed community. It has been dominated. And things has not changed, whether we change from 1G to 2G to 3G to 4G to 5G, a world which lives in 5G. And there is a world which does not have any G available for connectivity. That is possible when we do open RAN-based deployments. And we open the interfaces for everybody to participate in building those networks. This will bring in vendor diversity. This will bring in cost optimization. This will bring in access to the technologies to the lowest part of the world. So I would look at it as a platform to give access to every individual on the planet. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Lastly, on the online, I’d like to ask Mr. James Grayling the same question. Mr. Grayling, what do you think about this relationship between this internet we want and this open RAN technology?

James Grayling:
Yeah, so I think I agree with the panelists and their comments thus far. But I think bringing digital communities or digital capabilities to rural communities is key to all of this. What open RAN does, it brings competition into the market. It brings other technologies into the market as well. And as part of that, you can really drive best-in-class solutions for all the different environments, be it urban, be it rural, be it remote communities where you wouldn’t have that capability before. But that’s bringing internet connectivity to people. But I think the other thing is changing how we operate as an industry going forward as well. So through automation and AI, I think Christopher mentioned, that that brings capabilities through SMO and the capabilities of RIC platforms and xApps and rApps that will actually benefit not only us as operators, but the enterprise customers and consumers on the ability to be able to drive specific requirements for the customer, be it for dedicated bandwidth, 5G network slicing or whatever that might be, but actually bringing certain applications to the customer and putting in the customer’s hands.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So from the previous discussion, I understand that maybe openness will include, it will invite more players to this open field and it will promote the competition and it will also promote the innovations and maybe such a democratic setting will maybe be beneficial to the internet we want. This is my understanding. Well, now, the next question, by the way, I think that this brings us for the next question to for the open-land discussion, we also hear about the security concern. I read some paper issued by the European colleague mentioning that since open-land introduces some new interfaces, it will be the challenge for the security of the open-land, the net networks. So my next question is this security issues. What do you think this open-land can, how do you see the security of the open-land? Do you think the introduction of the new interfaces can be a really challenge to this security of open-land? Or do you think maybe we can overcome such a challenge by introducing some new technologies? And this is my second question. So maybe from Mr. President.

Anil Umesh:
Thank you, Hishida, again for that question. So I think this is also very important. The way I see it, so there are, I think, well, open-land is a new way of working. So whenever something new comes in, I guess nowadays security is very important. So that’s assessment on security, that will always come into play. So, but in the end, I think this is something we would address. And if we look at it from a different perspective, from the way we see it, it was also mentioned, I think, also in this open-land security report. But we also see having this open interface or the open specifications allow for transparency and also having this in the standards, many people looking at this topic could make things better. And again, also, I mentioned earlier about having new entrants, having new solutions. But I think this is also, hopefully we would also see this for security. So in the end, we think, at the beginning, I think this is open-land is new. So that’s a new aspect which we need to consider. But in the end, we think open-land could be better for security, yeah.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So, Mr. Mish, I think you explained that you had a viewpoint from the viewpoint of the operators who already introduced these multi-vendor systems. So I’d like to ask Mr. Santiago, I think in your company, you are not interested in introducing open-land technologies. And I think you are also introducing some POC in your country. So, so far, how do you think about these security issues? How did you take evaluation so far?

Roderick S. Santiago:
Yes, thank you. You know, in anything, in any new things, hardware, software, there will be new issues on the security, right? But as I have been doing my due diligence, there’s really only 4% of new security issues that can be found on open-run, right? So with that said, I fully believe that it can be overcome if we focus on three things. Number one, we really need to have a regulatory framework. Second, there should be that industry collaboration to be able to solve those 4% new security issues. And the third one, it’s really dependent on the engagement of all the stakeholders to fully resolve it. So it’s doable. I’m optimistic that we could be able to overcome it. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. From the, so I’d like to ask the viewpoint from the operators and from the online, we have James Grady from Vodafone. So James, I think the Vodafone is also interested in introducing the open-land multi-vendor system. How does your viewpoint so far about the security of open-land?

James Grayling:
Yeah, so I think if I can rephrase the question slightly, Vodafone are not introducing, they’ve already introduced, or we have already introduced open-run into our network. And based on that, we have got deployments in the network which are taking live and commercial traffic. And Vodafone takes security very seriously through working with the open-run alliance in working group 11, providing standards to the vendors that specifications need to be met. And I think Anil actually touched upon it as well. What it does, open-run actually brings more opportunities to really address some of the security challenges that we’ve got in any run network. Because from working with traditional run, it’s almost a black box to the operators. But what this does, it allows the operators to really unpick each component of the open-run stack and ensure that the standards are met through secure by design. And that could be secure by design internal requirements, but also secure by design from an industry perspective as well. Any testing that we do within Vodafone has to go through a resilient third-party penetration test. And by which we’re breaking down all of the components and ensuring that we’ve got the capability of that transparency. So I think what it does is actually, it actually ensures that the security is not only driven by the vendors and specifications would be provided into vendors to say this is what the security requirements would be upfront. But also it puts the responsibility on the operators themselves to actually ensure that what is being deployed in the network is secure and secure by design. So I think, yeah, I think it’s working as a community to ensure that all security specifications are agreed and tested upfront. And actually some of that testing should be driven by the vendors in advance before coming into the operators. So I see open-run really opening up the box for want of a better term on security and putting more of a spotlight on it and ensuring that all components are secure throughout the architecture.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So I heard from James that the security by design. So in my understanding, so security by design is the operator is going to be test each of the component, but through such a process, it’s kind of the collaboration between the operators and the vendors. In this case, I’d like to ask the opinion from the vendors. So Mr. Sato, I think you are at the ICT vendors. Fujitsu is now producing the open-run components. Yes. So how do you think about this security challenge?

Satou Naoto:
Yeah, in fact, that from a vendor point of view, we also focusing on secure by design, I mean process in order to develop the software and also that the how our solution is the secure enough to the market. This is also the challenge, but we think that this is most important things is the resiliency for the security, which means that once transparency is on, then each vendor has to have the responsible for responsiveness for the security. Then which means that more, it’s kind of competition of the vendors will be more high. And then finally that the good consequence to have the good security and open and transparent network will be built up. So this is what we are thinking currently. Thank you very much.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So I’d like to ask another vendor’s opinion from the screen. I think Exxon is also providing some components for the open-run. How do you evaluate the security issues?

Christopher Price:
Security in mobile networks is extremely important. We take 5G technology, for instance, there are over a hundred open interfaces, which are standardized and secured in that technology. Open brand brings three new interface areas that need to undergo the same due diligence, need to undergo the same hardening, require the same effort in order to bring them up to the same level and establish them as global standards. So Ericsson, for instance, is the leader in the open-run security community as far as contributions are concerned. We believe strongly in building secure by design. And so you’ll see with the open interfaces that we’re bringing on the SMO side and through the cloud round to radio side, the same due diligence we see on existing 5G interfaces will be applied and the same levels of security and trustworthiness can be expected. There are challenges, of course, in the AI area and in some of the automation pieces where we are addressing new concepts that we’re not masters of yet and building this on top of the 5G network that we have today, for which we’re not masters of yet, I think is an added complication. But I think due diligence and good testing and interoperability work is critical to driving the technology. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Lastly, I’d like to ask Rakuten, just a point of view, Mr. Mahesh. I think that Rakuten is kind of working as a system integrator to enable this open-run technologies. So in this space, I think you are dealing with many vendors and dealing with this such a security by design concept. How do you now evaluate such a security of the open-run so far?

Kasar Mahesh:
Well, from Rakuten Symphony, we have, both actually, we have built a Rakuten mobile network. So we have experience building the world’s largest fully virtualized open-run network with security in-built. So security was part of the design itself. Our approach is pragmatic. We take a zero-trust and zero-touch approach to the security. From telecom perspective, I may say that we have been a lagger in terms of security approaches. But IT and enterprise IT has been gone ahead. So we learned from those practices. Best practices speak from the enterprise IT segment. And we have deployed those practices in the network. So that fortifies the network security by resilience, privacy, user, and the data integrity in mind. At the same time, if we look at the parameters which have been considered for the security fortification, where the strong identity certificates, the validation of the security limits, every time you get an element, you get a validation on the securities. We did the segmentation of the network elements. And at the same time, all the network activities has been made visualized. So whatever activity happens, you have vigilance on it. That gives you, that also limits the access to network elements from various parties. So through these different practices, we have secured our network. We have done that. So in terms of these discussions on Open RAN not being secure, we would invite them to see it. And if they still feel that seeing is believing, they’ll definitely believe it. Thank you very much.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So from the previous speakers, I understand that the issue of security is now being addressed by each viewpoint, some point, from the vendor’s perspective, from the operator’s perspective. And I think it’s kind of the collaboration among the vendors and carriers. And also sometimes, Entities such as ORPC, who is not setting some specification for security. With such collaborative works, I think the security of the Opera now will be addressed. And I think this can bring about the secure and the open secure infrastructure. I’d like to turn to the next question, it’s about the cost. Since the Opera is kind of the multi-layered structure, there’s an argument that it costs higher. It’s more costly than the ordinary vertical integrated networks. How do you think about this cost effect? First, I’d like to ask Mr. Entity Tokomo, because Entity Tokomo is already introducing multiple systems. How do you think about this cost aspect of the Open RAN?

Anil Umesh:
Thank you. Yes, as you mentioned, yes, we have introduced Open RAN since our start of 5G in 2020. And then also, very recently, last month, we announced that we also started, introduced virtual VRAN networks. On the cost, we believe also, from cost point of view, Open RAN and VRAN would be beneficial. We have seen actual aspects, like obvious, would be having, with Open RAN, we have more choices the way we see it. So, cost, there is competition, and there’s also, we would be able to choose the best solution where cost is one of the factors, among others, like performance or schedule, and that is obviously one thing. There are, as mentioned, this is also a little bit common to what I mentioned for security, but there are new aspects in Open RAN. Especially in the beginning, there may be some factors where there could be additional of cost, but in the total, I think we are expecting cost to be also, to receive benefits from cost. And we also think that as Open RAN and VRAN, as they scale, we expect to see even further benefits. That’s the way we see it.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Next, I’d like to ask another carrier who is introducing multiband system, it’s Lakten. So, Mr. Mahesh, do you also think the introduction of the multiband vendor will promote the competition and it will reduce the cost? Do you think so?

Kasar Mahesh:
Obviously, yes. Because until now, the mobile networks were dominated by the mobile infrastructure providers and they have all the vertical stack, which was proprietary and has been cost, not has been cost effective so far. So in Rakuten Mobile, our approach was an open architecture with multi-vendor ecosystem, which will bring in off-the-shelf components, which are available in the market. So we can pick and choose from which components we want. The second aspect was we did the hardware and software disintegration. Most of the network components were virtualized and put onto the cloud. So whenever you have a scalability problem in the network, you need to put a cost to it. Now that cost is gone because the scalability is managed by the cloud infrastructure itself, by the Kubernetes. It will manage your pods and the containers itself so that how much allocation needs to be done. The AI-driven approach put into the software will also manage what are the components to be utilized. So your cost goes down there. Your cost goes down for operating the network itself. In Rakuten Mobile, if we’d have gone with the traditional vendor and traditional approach, we would have ended up spending 40% more on the CAPEX. So today, our saving on the capital expenditure was 40%, and operational expenditure is 30% if we would have done it in the traditional way. So cost is another area where we have already championed the aspect here.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So next, I’d like to ask the vendor’s perspective. So Sato-san, how do you think about this cost perspective to open now?

Satou Naoto:
Yes, thank you. From virtual integration point of view, I think that, of course, integration cost is not eligible. In fact, that has to be smart enough. Beside of that, from hardware point of view, we’re believing that evolution of the device is the speed of the evolution of the device. It’s really fast enough. And also that we’d like to take advantage of this means that our Fujitsu VLAN solution is also thinking that we’d like to have our VLAN solution on top of the cutting-edge devices, which means we can take advantage of those evolution of the devices. And also, from traditional RAN point of view, of course, it is really optimized in terms of the energy savings and performances as well. We understand that the speed of the hardware evolution, and I think that this can afford to do that by maybe because of the hardware investment. In fact, for traditional RAN to invest hardware, it’s really hard for us. And device evolution and servers, which are used by any other industry area, this means that the cost effectiveness for those things, we’d like to take advantage of those things into the mobile networks. Thank you very much.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
So I’d like to ask Erickson’s point of view, and I think Erickson is dealing with the vertically integrated networks, and also you are providing some of the open RAN component. How do you compare the cost between the different types?

Christopher Price:
The cost is a question of opportunity, and I think one of the things that Neil said is it’s a matter of choice, where am I going to choose to deploy different technologies and why? What am I trying to achieve by using this area, and where are my potential savings or not? At Erickson, we believe in the most efficient and most effective networks that we can produce. In other words, we want to leverage the air interface as much as we can. That’s the critical thing that we need to solve for mobile networks. Frequencies such as MIMO to leverage a sequence of frequencies up to five to six times more than you do with a traditional radio is extremely important. So bringing that technology and bringing those capabilities into the RAN ecosystem is something that we’re striving to achieve and really want to bring forward. That provides then choice for operators to be able to leverage the best technology and to be able to deploy it either in a cloud solution, where that makes sense, or in a standalone solution, where that makes sense to the operator. There’s no right answer, I think, on how best to approach this, but as the technologies emerge and as they mature, we’ll see more and more synergy between the two. We’ll see the ability to integrate different components in different ways, but that takes time. We know it’s not so simple just to plug things together and expect the national network to work. It takes effort, it takes global standards, and it takes ecosystems, and that’s, I think, where we’re spending our efforts and time to try and bring the whole RAN forward. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So next, I’d like to ask the Vodafone’s point of view. Mr. Grayling, I heard from your previous comment that you’re actually introducing the open RAN in some areas, and I think you’re kind of in a position to compare the traditional vertical integrated system and also the open RAN system. So far, at this point of view, how do you evaluate the cost between the traditional vertical system and open RAN?

James Grayling:
So I think, again, many of the points have been touched upon already, but I think we’re fairly advanced as an industry in open RAN, and when you compare it to traditional RAN, I think there is still some way to go in total cost of ownership from a competition perspective, the ecosystem maturity perspective. But I think what we’re seeing is that, and I think Kumar touched upon it, is around the automation. You know, we can talk about ecosystem competition, best in class, but what automation will do is it will drive down our operating costs significantly. And I mean that not only from an operational and maintenance perspective through artificial intelligence of identifying when components may fail, but also driving down the capabilities or pushing up the capabilities to actually do preventative maintenance and so on and so forth. But also, it brings the opportunity to automate the way that we optimize the networks as well and driving through some capabilities to ensure that the networks and the open RAN stacks are performing to the best of their ability. So I think it’s not only competition, but it’s also automation and what SMO brings will also drive down that TCO model. And I think just to finish for me is on around what this will do is it not only drives down what Open RAN is doing, it’s creating competition not only to drive down costs for the vendors and the hardware providers, but also from a traditional RAN perspective because it’s creating that competition in the market. So overall TCO costs for the operators will be benefited through Open RAN and the competition that Open RAN brings.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Next, I’d like to ask the Philippine operators’ point of view. So Mr. Santiago, how do you evaluate the – I think you’re already introducing some POC in your country. How do you think so far about this cost, the cost of Open RAN compared to the traditional one?

Roderick S. Santiago:
Yes, absolutely. So we did the cost-benefit analysis to start with, right? And what I have seen so far is that during the transition or the short term, it will be a little bit higher on the Open RAN as typical, right? But if I look at the overall TCO, the lifespan of the hardware, right, I will benefit. Why? Because of the flexibility, I will have also that resource optimization. I will also have that capability to be able to do virtualization and more innovative ways on how to maximize my investment. So that’s pretty much it. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So I heard the word TCO, total cost of operation. So even if in the short term, the introduction of the multi-vendor system might be costly, but from the long term, maybe as a viewpoint of this TCO, maybe it might be more costly, effective. I think this is kind of the conclusion from this panel. Thank you very much. So now I’d like to turn to another aspect of Open RAN. Next, I’d like to focus on the energy efficiencies. So I also heard from the opponents from the Open RAN that the introduction of the new interfaces may have a bad effect on the environment. So in the energy efficiency point of view, it is more costly than the traditional one. This is what I heard from the opponent of the Open RAN. But how do you see this energy efficiency argument? First, I’d like to ask from Antti Dokomo.

Anil Umesh:
Thank you. So also from energy efficiency, we see a big part from two aspects. One is from the hardware perspective and one is from the software perspective. And on the hardware, as mentioned in the previous discussions, the hardware is really, I think, evolving. So being able to take on new hardware, I think this is kind of the idea from virtualization. But that does help to bring in better components also from energy efficiency point of view. One is the CPUs and the servers. That’s one area. For RAN, the hardware accelerator component taking care of the very delay-strict processing in the layer 1, that plays a big role. And also there, we are seeing new components coming into the market. So there, we think from a hardware perspective, we are expecting that this will get better. Energy efficiency also for Open RAN would get better. And also for the software perspective, I think there was mentioning of SMO and automation, but this is also an area where we actually have some implementation already in the current network, some parts of it. Mainly, initially, it’s on the reducing radio, turning off the radio, which are not news, but that helps. And we are also seeing studies in the industry which also tries to optimize hardware also in the baseband. So this is also another area which we are hoping that will come.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So I understand that the development of the hardware and also software will improve the energy efficiency. I think this can be either kind of the future direction for improving the energy efficiency of the Open RAN. So I’d like to ask the RAC-10 point of view also. Mr. Mahesh, do you also think that the improvement of the hardware and software can reduce the energy consumption of the Open RAN?

Kasar Mahesh:
Yes. Obviously, the disintegration of software and hardware has lead us to less usage of hardware, which is obviously one way of reducing it. We at Rakuten Mobile, we have been conscious about the sustainable innovation in the hardware. Also, we have deployed some of the best practices to reduce the energy consumption in the network. We are committed to reducing the carbon footprints and approaching towards the net zero future. By some of the examples, I would say that there are some RAN intelligent controllers which have been placed in place, which will basically monitor the consumption of the radio, which is the largest consumer of the energy. Another largest consumer of the energy would be the data centers and the servers, which are being optimized. For example, on the radio side, we have developed the IoT-based smart meters, which will continuously monitor the consumption of the networks. Fujitsu also has such a development and they are in place. At the same time, we also monitor the traffic on the network so that we can manage the radios. They can put some radios on hibernation or on the slow consumption so that you don’t consume more energy on the network. With these some of the aspects which we have already deployed, and those are not sufficient, I would say sitting in Kyoto talking about sustainability is a touchy topic. These are not sufficient enough. We will continue to innovate ways to reduce that carbon footprint and excel towards the net zero consumption.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Rakuten mentioned Fujitsu because I understand that Rakuten is also using part of the Fujitsu as a component. I would like to ask Sato-san’s point of view. How do you think about this energy consumption issue?

Satou Naoto:
Yes. As Mahesh said, from a cloud-native point of view, that once the… data centre is centralised, then we have more possibility to have the smarter control for the hardware resources and the software resources can be optimised and stopping some servers and so on. Of course, those points would be part of the one advantage. Also, I’m feeling that currently, for example, in Open RAN front hall and RU and base station that we have some kind of the energy saving, sleeping mode or something like this. We’re thinking that it’s kind of, we’re chasing the sophisticated operation every time, means that Open RAN front hall standardisation has been defined, but we have another sophisticated technology to control the RU or something like this, but I think the standardisation and the sophisticated radio control, this has to be well balanced in order to define more implemented Open RAN standardisation, because openness has to be, you know, simple is best, so simpler Open standardisation and having a certain level of sophistication, quickness of the RU control or something like this. So we’re thinking that this will be an important thing.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. I’d like to ask the board of funds point of view. So Chris, you mentioned that there’s a more sophisticated way of controlling the hardware can introduce, can bring about the cost efficiency, how do you feel this way?

Christopher Price:
So from the Ericsson point of view, I think we set ourselves some targets when 5G was announced. We’d seen from 2G to 3G to 4G that the power cost had gone up on radio sites, basically with every bit that goes through, the cost per bit hadn’t changed significantly. So for 5G, we set ourselves some targets to support 5G throughput, but reduce the power consumption on the base stations by 40% from what we got in 4G. We’re currently at 37%, so we’re absolutely striving for much better energy efficiency and sustainability. And these are industry targets. There is work across industry in improving standardisation and implementation. These targets, though, we find can be met with dedicated silicon solutions. General purpose processors haven’t been able to deliver the types of power performance savings that we’ve been striving for, but it doesn’t put them out of the question, right? There’s room in a network for different types of implementations and different trade-offs that you might need to make in different deployment scenarios. But for Ericsson, we expect to see an improvement in the O-RAN performance. We have, for instance, over a million radio devices that have artificial intelligence built in to turn on and off antenna in microsecond time in the market today, which are, from a hardware perspective, O-RAN capable. We haven’t yet updated them to software, but we will be doing that during 2024. So we already have hardware capabilities that are extremely energy efficient. We expect to hit that 40% target, not only on the pre-built, but also on the O-RAN networks as the technology evolves and the standardisation continues.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. I’d like to ask a broader point of view. Mr. Grayling, I think also you are considering the energy consumption issues when you are designing your networks. So far, how do you evaluate the environmental effect of this O-RAN so far?

James Grayling:
I think all the panelists have mentioned the different components and the different energy draw that each component brings. I think I’m right in saying 80% of the energy on the site is down to the IUs. What we’ve found through some of the testing that we’ve done in our live environment, the IUs are competitive to traditional RAN IUs today. So those energy savings that we’re seeing or energy benefits that we’re seeing in open RAN are actually coming to fruition now. But I think the area of focus really needs to be on two areas. One is the digital units, the COTS servers, and that’s where much of the energy draw is. And also around what open RAN does, it gives us the opportunity to develop the silicon, the chipsets to be far more efficient from a processing perspective, from a layer one perspective as well. So, I mean, from Vodafone’s point of view, the IUs we’re seeing are actually competitive from an energy perspective now. But the area that really needs to be focused as an industry is the servers and the DU areas.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So last year, I asked Mr. Santiago’s point of view. So far, we hear from the argument that this improvement of the software and hardware, there’s a possibility to improve the energy efficiency of each component. So far, how do you feel about this kind of argument? Do you think it is possible that we can achieve more energy efficient open RAN network?

Roderick S. Santiago:
Yeah. Energy management is one of my pillars in my network ambition. So to further reduce energy consumption. And with that said, I could see open RAN similar to what I’m doing in 4G, 5G, to implement the same self-optimizing network AI algorithms in order to further reduce the power consumption in a most smart and efficient way. But at the same time, providing still that increase coverage and capacity as you go along. So I could see that one as really doable by implementing open RAN. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So we are almost coming to the end of the time we allocated, but we still have, I see, five minutes. One more. Seven minutes? Okay. So lastly, I’d like to ask each panelist about the human resource aspect. Well, from the argument I hear from this open RAN discussion, my impression is, so far, the system is all on the responsibility of the ICT vendors. So carriers can just ask the ICT vendors. ICT vendors can set up everything. And there is not so much required for the operator side. But since open RAN is introduced, maybe my understanding is there is going to be more responsibility for the operators. They have to know more about this. So the system is going to be more transparent. But on the other hand, the operators need to see each of the components based on this clarity. There is also human capability is also required for the operator side also. This is my understanding. So lastly, my last question is, how do you evaluate such a need for role sharing between the carriers and vendors? How can the introduction of open RAN change such role sharing between carriers and vendors?

Anil Umesh:
So first, I’d like to ask Entity.com, please. Thank you, Shida-san. This is also one very important aspect. As you know, we have deployed open RAN, also vRAN, recently. But especially, we have been seeing this system integration. This is happening more. We used to do it also from 4G times from Docomo. But now with vRAN, as mentioned by previous speakers, we are seeing more IT vendors coming into play. And currently, we are seeing more communication with these new players, vendors for system integration. So this is happening. I think in general, this could be done by the operators. I think that’s what we are trying to do. I think many of the bigger operators are trying to do this. But at the same time, this could be also maybe challenging for operators with less resources. So from our point of view, we are trying to do two things to get open RAN to get this globally. One is to share the experiences, share what we have been done on integration with other players, people or operators, vendors in the world, so that we don’t have to do the same testing integration each time, which would help, hopefully, to reduce these costs also from the human resources point of view. And then the second point of view is, from Docomo point of view, we are also trying to take on also not only system integration role for Docomo, but we are also trying to do this also for other operators who would demand this, who would, if by request, we are also trying to provide this kind of service. So we are, yes, system integration is new. This is important. And it is a collaboration between operators and vendors. But yes, at the same time, we are doing this. Yes.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So I’d like to ask the Rakuten point of views also. So how do you feel this kind of, how do you see the Rakuten’s role when it comes to the human resources?

Kasar Mahesh:
When you do something first time and if you leave the path, you need to create the path. So we knew that when we are going to deploy open RAN-based architecture in our network, we know that we need to develop that human capital. We collected, if you look at the structure today, we have engineers and skilled professionals from 70 different countries, which we accumulate to build Rakuten Mobile. Now with Rakuten Symphony, we know that when we deliver these solutions and architectures and the platforms to our customers, our customers also will need to build or reskill their resources for open RAN-based deployments. So we have built a platform called Learning Hub, through which we train our resources for open RAN-based technologies. We have moved one step further and we have helped Asia Open RAN Academy in Philippines to train engineers, telecom engineers on open RAN technologies. That platform is available. It has been supported by USAID as well and MIC has been also a supporter of that activity. So we have done enough work in order to secure those resources for our own deployment, as well as when other operators will go for open RAN deployments. We will definitely create that resource, be it in the radio technologies, be it in the cloud native network technologies, the orchestration of the technologies, the OSS, the automation, the AI, all these different aspects have been covered under that training in Asia Open RAN Academy, as well as under the platform which we are providing to the operators.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So Mr. Santiago, he mentioned about the Open RAN Academy in Philippines. So how do you think about this human resource capacity building that is going to be required for the introduction of Open RAN? Do you think it’s going to be more coordinated action is necessary for promotion of the Open RAN in each country, like Philippines?

Roderick S. Santiago:
Yeah, continuous learning is very important. Knowledge sharing, just like what we’re doing with NTT Docomo, would be critical as well to minimize and not repeat the same efforts that they did, but being more efficient in focusing on the implementation and the operation of it. So to answer your question, yes, I mean, I’ve been very involved in a lot of Open RAN discussions around the world and focusing to really what can be implemented and how we could be more cost-effective moving forward. So with regards to HR, so that’s part of my vision this year and next year is really to have that set of engineers that I could call experts in this field.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. So next, I’d like to hear from the vendor’s point of view. So Sato-san, how do you think about this human capability?

Satou Naoto:
I don’t know if I can answer the question, but I think that the key factor would be we have to use IT technology much more. And as CloudNative said, this hardware-software disaggregation would be the key to bringing the another stage for the Open RAN and virtual RAN integration.

Christopher Price:
Yes, so very briefly, I’m looking forward to the next panel, but regardless of whether I want to build it myself or whether I want to buy it from a vendor, security is becoming increasingly important, both cybersecurity and infrastructure security. So work with your partners, work with your vendors, and work with your competitors to find the best solutions. Get in the ecosystem, contribute. I’d love to see everyone at the O-RAN security forum. There’s plenty of seats there for people to join. And also at the IGF on Tuesday, there are a number of sessions on infrastructure and cybersecurity that people can participate in. But the best thing to do is make your decisions about your network the way you want to, and then contribute, collaborate, and learn from your peers. Thank you.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Lastly, on the online, I’d like to ask Mr. Grayling’s point of view. Mr. Grayling, this is the last question. You’re the last speaker of this panel. How do you think about this human capacity building aspect of the O-RAN? In the introduction of the O-RAN, do you think there’s a sense of special need for the human capacity building?

James Grayling:
So I think just to wrap up for me is that each operator, each vendor can’t do this alone. And we’re on an innovation path that we’re all learning from. And I think what I’ve seen, certainly over the last few years, has been a huge change in the way that the industry works collectively and collaboratively. You know, we’ve got a number of different MOUs with different operators, with different vendors and suppliers, which actually wouldn’t have been the case going back two or three years ago. So knowledge transfer is going to be key to this. And I don’t mean this in an open round perspective, but in an open way. So really learning off each other and knowledge transfer and skills transfer. Because as I say, each operator, each vendor can’t do this alone. We’ve got to do it as an industry. So I think I’ll leave on that note.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you very much. Now it comes to the end of the session. I need to close this session. But thank you very much for today’s very fruitful discussion. I’d like to thank all the panelists and also the panelists on the online. Mr. James Grayling. Thank you very much for today’s discussion. Thank you very much. It’s nice to be here. Thank you. Thank you. If you are ready, can I pass the floor back to Jaishat, please. Okay, I think we are all set.

Jaisha Wray:
Hello, everyone. My name is Jaishat Ray, and I’m the Associate Administrator for International Affairs of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. I would like to thank my Japanese colleagues for organizing this very important event, and it is wonderful to be reunited with my friend, Hishida-san. So I will start out by saying that developing and deploying open radio access networks is a key priority for the United States, and we are working in a number of ways to advance and promote open networks. So for example, we have our Institute for Telecommunication Sciences in Boulder, Colorado, which is looking at open radio access networks, or Open RAN. They are also taking part in a 5G challenge. In addition, we have the Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund to accelerate the development and deployment of Open RAN. And finally, we are actively engaged in international cooperation, such as our very exciting efforts you heard about earlier through the Quad. And there is a role for governments in all of this, but this effort can and should be industry-led, and that’s why we are working closely with a range of organizations like the O-RAN Alliance, the Open RAN Policy Coalition, the Telecom Infra Project, among others. And these organizations are helping shape the future of Open RAN approaches and revolutionizing the telecommunications network industry. None of this would be possible without the invaluable efforts of R&D labs around the world. The O-RAN Alliance is a community of mobile operators, vendors, and research and academic institutions with the mission to reshape radio access networks to be more intelligent, open, virtualized, and fully interoperable. And they have taken a leading role in establishing these labs through their Open Testing and Integration Centers, or OTICs. OTICs are O-RAN Alliance-certified labs that provide an open, collaborative, vendor-independent, and impartial working environment to support the progress of the O-RAN industry ecosystem. So I am very excited to be hearing from this group of esteemed panelists about OTICs and other test labs working in this area. And so I will briefly introduce each panelist, and then I will turn to them for remarks. So first we have Mr. Yushi Torigoe representing the Japan OTIC based in Yokosuka. We also have Mr. Alozio Pereira da Silva representing the North American OTIC in Washington, D.C., called the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative. We have Mr. Alex Weber representing the Australian Department of Home Affairs, who will be joining us online. And finally, we have Mr. Tony QS Quek representing the Asia and Pacific OTIC in Singapore. So I will first turn to Mr. Torigoe for five to six minutes of remarks. Thank you.

Torigoe Yushi:
Thank you, Ms. Ray, for a kind introduction, and also thank you very much, DG Tawara and the MIC team, for organizing this very timely session. I’m Yushi Torigoe, leading YRP R&D Promotion Committee, General Association for Promoting R&D, on ICT with MIC, Yokosuka City, Yokosuka Research Park, and Keihin-Kyuko Railways and others. Now I’d like to speak about the efforts on Japan OTIC in response to 5G and OpenLAN. Could you display the project? Yes, please. So next slide, please. Thank you. So what is OpenLAN, Open Radio Access Networks? OpenLAN is setting open specification for segmented parts, so that each LAN part can be unitized. In the figure from the right in green, RU, radio unit, is a unit that communicates with the user terminals, such as your smartphones and IOT terminals, using radio waves by amplifying carrier wave power, controlling antenna directivity, among others. DU, distributed unit, is a unit modulates and encodes signals to be transmitted, demodulates and decodes signals to be received, and performs communication control. Depending on the form of communication demand, it is often attached to the RU. Central unit is a unit connected to DUs and RUs that are connected via DUs, connects to the core network, encrypts packets, and manages radio resources for terminals. And next, what are the benefits of OpenLAN? First, reduced cost, faster technological development. OpenLAN can lead to reduced cost and faster technological development. Second, participation of ventures. It can also lead to participation of venture companies through the development of technological capabilities. Third, solving safety and supply chain concern. Safety and supply concern can be solved by promoting the participation of other vendors. If there is a supply or a technical problem with a single supplier or a set of run equipment, there is a known substitute for equipment, and there is a possibility that the communication network in that area will be affected. As a result, people living in the area may be unable to communicate the internet. Next, what is O-LAN Alliance? The O-LAN Alliance was established in 2018 with the aim of building next generation open and advanced wireless access networks, including 5G. Five mobile network operators of Europe, America, and Asia are the founding members of the O-LAN Alliance. At present, more than 30 mobile network operators and more than 300 companies in total, including vendors and others around the world, would participate and contribute to develop interoperable specifications for open, virtualized, and intelligent radio access networks. And then, what’s the role of OTIC, Open Testing and Integration Centers? OTIC provides an open, collaborative, vendor-independent, and impartial working environment to support the progress of the O-LAN industry ecosystem, including awarding O-LAN certificates and badges, hosting O-LAN Plug Fests, which is the proof of concept, conformance, interoperability, and end-to-end testing of O-LAN products and solutions, demos, community events or trials, and workshop or tutorials, among others. So far, 15 OTICs in the world have been established in the world, four OTICs in Europe, six OTICs in North America, and five OTICs in Asia, and Japan OTIC is the eighth OTIC in the order of establishment. About Japan OTIC, it was established in December last year, located in YRP, Yokosuka Research Park Center, Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. YRP is an area where ICT-related research institutes and bases in other fields are concentrated since it’s established in 1997. Japan OTIC is jointly managed and operated by non-profit YRP R&D Promotion Committee and all four mobile network operators in Japan. This joint operation by multiple operators is the first in the world. The purpose of OTIC is to contribute to upgrade O-LAN specifications, which leads to open, intelligent, virtualized, and highly secure radio access networks. In establishing and operating Japan OTIC, knowledge from research and development and surveys conducted by Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is utilized. Here’s the picture of laboratories and equipment of Japan OTIC. It currently has two testing laboratories, one operated by NTT DoCoMo, another by Rakuten Mobile. The photos were taken at the time of opening. There are more testing equipment and anechoic chambers. So this is the O-LAN certification and badging. O-LAN Alliance sets up O-LAN specifications that are specifications or functions of hardware and software that make up the base station equipment and interfaces that connect the equipment. Certification and badging conducted by OTIC can only be granted to products provided by O-LAN Alliance members. First, conformance certificate is to verify that product is compliant to the O-LAN specifications using O-LAN conformance test. In this figure, ORU, green at the right, ODU at the middle, and ODU OCU set, the middle and the left conformance certificates are shown. Second, interoperability badge, IoT badge, is to provide interoperability of pair of products connected by an open O-LAN interface or O-LAN profile, profiled by 3GPP interface using O-LAN interoperability test. In the figure, pair of ORU and ODU, IoT, and pair of ORU and ODU slash OCU set, IoT badge are shown. Third, end-to-end badge is to demonstrate and validate an end-to-end system or subsystem meets minimum requirements on functionality and security using O-LAN and end-to-end test. It can also provide an indication of performance or other end-to-end functionalities. In the figure, the scope of ORU slash ODU slash OCU set, E2E badge is shown. And after efforts of, this is the explanation, also, after efforts of constructing test facilities and conducting OTIC operations, Japan OTIC issued its first certificate in June this year. This is the world first certificate for global vendors like NEC. The certification by Japan OTIC is expected to expand market entry opportunities for equipment manufacturers and innovative features, reduce time to market, and reduce cost for communication services. So here’s the website and videos. Japan OTIC is working to raise awareness of O-LAN specification and promote the use of OTIC. As you see, we established Japan OTIC website containing outlines, introductory videos, news and events. We have conducted first O-LAN seminar in July to promote the benefit of open LAN and OTIC certification budget and visit of test laboratories. We also participate various exhibition and speaking opportunities. Please contact us through contact us page on our website if you are interested in using Japan OTIC. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you so much, Mr. Torogoi. Now over to Mr. Parada da Silva. The floor is yours.

Perreira da Silva:
Yeah, actually, I have a slide, but it’s not there, but then you’re going to speak. First, thank you for the invitation to be part of this panel representing North America OTIC and Washington, D.C. metro area. Actually, we became OTIC three, four months ago. We are located in the Washington, D.C. metro area. The OTIC is divided in two sites, main sites, an indoor laboratory that is located in Washington, D.C. metro area, and outdoor in the field as well where we have a real deployment that is located in Virginia Tech main campus deployment. This OTIC application was primarily supported by three carriers in U.S., ATT, Verizon and DISH. We are mainly focused on conformance tests, performance tests, and interoperability tests. For short term, we have no plan for now to emit bad certifications, but for long term is in our plan. First, we want to guarantee that we have the overall capability and expertise to test and verify the end-to-end conformance, performance, and interoperability tests in the O-RAN ecosystem before making any commitment to emit bad certifications. Another specific quality of this OTIC in Washington, D.C. that is led by me is that different from others OTIC across the world, this OTIC has been issued by an academia. And at the same time, we have an academia environment with laboratory indoor and outdoor where I will talk later in more details that we have been using to leverage the workforce development in the O-RAN because we really have a platform indoor and outdoor where we can train people, engineers, and hands-on experiment rather than focus just in theoretical approach. I think it’s all from my introduction so far. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you. So next, we will go to the virtual world, and we have Mr. Weber online who will be providing remarks.

Alex Weber:
Thanks, Jasa. Can I just confirm that you can hear me OK? All good. Brilliant. Good afternoon, everyone. Firstly, thank you for the invitation to participate in today’s panel, and I’d like to extend that. Thank you to my Japanese colleagues for the organisation of the event, and also to the fellow panel members who will be sharing their unique insights today. By way of introduction, my name is Alex Weber. I’m the acting director of the Future Connectivity Team, which sits within the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs. My team delivers a suite of programs and policy settings which aim to collectively uplift the security of Australia’s telecommunications technologies by working to ensure Australia has access to a diverse market of telecommunication vendors and providers. What I will say up front is that the Australian Government is very supportive of emerging technologies with the potential to contribute to an open, interoperable, secure and transparent telecommunications market such as Open RAN. Open RAN shows promise in delivering more affordable mobile telecommunications solutions when compared to single vendor solutions, supporting stronger technology supply chain security and resilience. By their very nature, Open RAN systems require collaboration and the ability to test the integration of varying systems and technologies which cannot be achieved in isolation. To address this need, the Australian Government recognises the crucial role testing facilities, including OTICs, play in ensuring that there’s an open, collaborative and vendor-neutral working environment for vendors to progress developments of Open RAN technologies. The Australian Government is actively engaged in efforts to support the development and widespread deployment of Open RAN and the diversification of Australia’s national telecommunications supply chain. We’ve endorsed a number of statements, including the prior proposals on telecommunications supply diversity and the Quad Memorandum of Cooperation on 5G supply diversification in Open RAN, to name a few. We’re also progressing a number of domestic initiatives, and one being the establishment of the Secure-G Connectivity Test Lab. The Secure-G Connectivity Test Lab, in particular, once established, will provide a prime opportunity for Australia to collaborate with other like-minded labs, including OTICs, to promote telecommunications innovation, security and harmony among testing environments. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you so much. And last but not least, we have Mr. Quek. Over to you.

Tony Queck:
Thank you. Thank you, Joshua. Can I project the slides? Okay. So I’ll just keep my presentation short. So I’m Tony. So I work at a university. At the same time, I’m heading the B5G National Programme in Singapore, which is Phase 1 until 2025. We’re planning for Phase 2. At the same time, I’m also heading the OTIC as part of the Future Comms Initiative, which we view that as one of the key directions that Singapore wants to drive. So I’ll just keep our focus on OTIC. Our OTIC was announced in February at MWC. We have three focus, essentially focusing on security, building security capabilities, testing on multi-vendor, O-RAN solution, energy efficiency, sustainability. The goal is essentially the use of the OTIC is to build ecosystems around Singapore. The vendors could actually branch out to ASEAN as a market, and applications, verticals, which are essential for Singapore, for example, like maritime, aviation, and so on. This is my last slide. So the capability we are planning for expansion is enhanced security testing, fuzzy attack root cause analysis tools, which is non-additional testing, and to end sustainability testing capability. We have just set up our RIG tester, ability to do RIG RAPs testing capability across the different interfaces. We hope to showcase more next year. But what is actually more interesting is that we are actually expanding our OTIC to include NTN testing capability by next year. We foresee that in the future there will be opportunities for O-RAN vendors to branch into NTN ecosystems, so we are actually preparing this in our pipeline. And that’s all. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you. So we will now move into the Q&A portion, and I would welcome any of the speakers to volunteer to provide answers to these questions. So the first one is, is there a role for OTICs and other research and development labs, both public and private, to play in promoting the responsible use of AI and emerging technologies, avoiding internet fragmentation, cybersecurity, cybercrime and online safety, data governance and trust, digital divides and inclusion, global digital governance and cooperation, human rights and freedoms, and sustainability and the environment? So that’s a long list of options, but the key question here is, what is the benefit here of the OTICs, and how far is their reach? Any volunteers, please?

Torigoe Yushi:
Thank you very much. So this, of course, is a very traditional issue, a very important question for IGF. I was part of a past IGF session in maybe Germany, but now I’m in a position of OTIC. So to introduce, O-RAN is an initiative that has only been around four to five years, and the current scope of certification and badging is OTICs, as I explained, conformance, interoperability, and end-to-end. Therefore, certification and badging currently performed by OTIC is limited to confirming compliance with technical specifications, interoperability, and meeting minimum requirements for function and security for end-to-end. Meanwhile, like other speakers already explained, discussions are underway to make a security badge as the fourth certification or badge for OTIC. This is a dedicated technical group, Working Group 11, to discuss security issue. I believe that the role of OTIC to be played in promoting responsible use of AI and emerging technology will depend on the future developments. As for digital divide, of course, it is believed that reducing the cost of procuring communications infrastructure equipment and regarding sustainability and environment, like other speakers in the previous session and this session discussed already, energy saving is the key topic of communication equipment energy saving, and will eventually contribute to this discussion. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you. Would anyone else like to chime in?

Perreira da Silva:
Well, as I mentioned before, our OTIC has a specific characteristic in Washington, D.C. because we came from the, we are academia as well, and at the same time that we provide service for vendors, multi-vendors, to test their disaggregate radio-based, radio-access networking. In our case, what we have been trying to do, what I have been trying to do there, despite being the XG testbed directly, what we have developed and testing our open-source open-source framework should work as well in the commercial CU, the UNRU.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you. It’s fascinating to hear how multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder this work is, truly in line with our efforts here at the Internet Governance Forum on supporting an equitable and inclusive approach to the Internet. So very interesting. If it’s all right, I’ll move to the next question and turn to you and Mr. Weber first. So what are the benefits to the vendors or users in terms of cost and the speed of examination due to the competition among OTICs around the world? Would you like to go first?

Tony Queck:
Okay. So I would think it’s not about competition. What actually is important is the normalization. So as we foresee, there will be more OTICs. So how do you actually ensure the standard is maintained? How do you mutually recognize each other, testing or badging? I think that’s important. That’s where different OTICs can come together to help to bring the ecosystem in order to ensure that O-RAN is the solution for subsequently beyond 5G and 6G. That’s a very important factor. How do we even to share our testing report, the mechanism? I think these are the things that would actually reduce cost, ensure sustainability. That’s where the opportunities are. So I foresee more of a collaboration, which is what we have done organizing a global OTIC summit in August. We hope that this will continue so that OTICs can work together. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you very much. Very interesting. Mr. Weber, would you like to address that question and perhaps tell us a little bit more about Australia’s plans with regard to OTICs in the future? Is there an Australian lab that has engaged with the broader research and development ecosystem? Thank you.

Alex Weber:
Thank you. So to answer the first question, I’ll leave it to my OT colleagues on the panel for, I guess, further explanation. But I guess from a higher level, at a higher level, I think cooperation between labs will reduce development timeframes. And I think labs could coordinate testing such that each lab recognizes testing from another that adds new testing opportunities to promote development and innovation. And this may also include testing against additional vendors or sharing testing methodologies globally to promote telecommunications integration and consistency. In terms of the Australian government and our own testing facilities and what options there may be in terms of cooperation with OTICs in the future, so as I mentioned in my earlier remarks, the Australian government is working to establish its own testing facility known as the Secure-G Connectivity Test Lab. The key objectives of the lab is to provide an environment for industry, including telecommunications vendors to test their equipment, standards, software, and protocols that underpin emerging interoperable networks with a primary focus on security and interoperability. The lab will be a government-led facility with work currently underway to select a prime contractor to design, establish, and operate the lab over an initial period. We’re at this stage where we estimate that the lab will be fully operational by mid-2024, so next year. In post-establishment, Australia is very much open to increasing engagement across the broader testing ecosystem, including with OTICs. We currently engage with a number of government partners through the U.S. and the U.K. in particular, and a number of, I guess, testing facilities within those countries. But there is an opportunity to engage with these other testing facilities, including OTIC. What I will note as well is that Australia is also engaging with a number of other, I guess, research institutions in support of our own telecommunications security and diversification objectives. And one particular initiative that we are currently undertaking is some work with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization to undertake research and development into next-generation telecommunications security requirements. And this particular research will develop security protocols towards interoperable virtualized telecommunications technologies and establish a sovereign evidence base for industry efforts to build upon. So, I guess, to sum up there, Jayshia, I think it’s, you know, the information sharing and the opportunity that is presented to all of us across the testing ecosystem is something that we should all embrace and really, you know, seek to leverage the opportunity that is presented in this current form. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
I completely agree. Thank you for those remarks. You talked a lot about the opportunities for collaboration here, and I’d like to hear from the other panelists about what kinds of additional cooperation is feasible between each OTIC and perhaps even other research and development labs. Any volunteers?

Torigoe Yushi:
Thank you very much for very important questions. Well, first of all, the current challenge for OTIC is to efficiently conduct a test required by O-RAN specification and issue certification in an expected time frame. It is also important to increase the motivation of each vendor to obtain OTIC certification and encourage them to obtain OTIC certificate. Therefore, it is possible for OTIC to share the best practices regarding, first, efficient testing and certification methods, and second, effective public relation of open RAN OTIC certification and raising motivation for obtaining certification and budging of OTIC. We have started this practice in this O-RAN alliance. We have a regular face-to-face meeting. Last meeting was in Osaka, hosted by a Japanese telecom operator, and we have a very fruitful exchange of experience and knowledge. We have another meeting regularly, three times a year, and also we would like to thank the hosting Global OTIC Summit in Singapore. One of our operators participated in this summit exercise, and the discussion and the information exchange was very useful. So we will continue this information and experience exchange. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you. Would you like to address collaboration briefly?

Perreira da Silva:
Thank you. Yeah. I see the collaboration twofold. First, the OTIC, they can share facility resources, because some of the OTICs, they don’t have what we call in-the-field testing. We should not do the testing only in lab. We should test outdoor in the field as well, with different frequency, with different distance range. And the second part is that the OTIC, we as OTIC, we need to collaborate in such a way that you can have a minimal viable testing package that is common across all the OTIC, to make sure that the result that is getting for testing at CU and OTIC-A is the same values that we get in OTIC-B. What are the advantages when you have this? Because we can create together automated testing environment. What are the gains and the benefits to have an end-to-end automated testing? Basically, we will be able to control the cost to test, but in the same time, we will be able to speed up the time to the market from this CU and this RU.

Tony Queck:
And last but not least, thank you. I’ll just keep it short. So we are trying to use remote access. So the first, we have connected to the University of Surrey. There’s a B5G center. So they are looking at massive MIMO RU. So the issues that we are looking at, some of these are testing across remotely and accessing us. The second is to work with the Philippines. I think there’s some discussion on this Open RAN Academy in Philippines, trying to let them use our rig tester equipment, developing packages to help them. And third is partner with OTIC. So we are starting with Northeastern University OTIC in discussion whether we could share some resources and advance some of the research capability and the minimum viable, how do we actually define a minimum viable profile for different vertical services. Thank you.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you very much. That concludes this panel. Let’s give them a round of applause, and we’ll move into the final portion of the event.

Mitsuhiro Hishida:
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the moderators and panelists. Finally, we have a closing remarks from the moderators and DG Mr. Tawada. So first, Hishida-san, then to Jaisha and Tawada-san, please. Thank you very much. Thank you for staying in this room until the end. It’s my great pleasure to be the moderator of the first panel. In my panel, it was very encouraging to see that from all the panelists, we had very positive comment from the future of Open RAN, including the European vendors and European carriers. I think this is very worthy because we have a very balanced panelist. We have panelists from Asia, from the U.S., and also Japan, and Europe. We have panelists from the telecom carriers and vendors, and also the free-to-feed operators who is now considering the introduction of the Open RAN. So actually, I’d like to thank all the panelists for participating in this panel, and also I’d like to thank all the audiences here for listening to this panel carefully. Thank you for having me as a moderator here. Thank you very much.

Jaisha Wray:
Thank you. So I would just say in conclusion, we heard a lot about the opportunities that open radio access networks present, and those include opportunities to address security considerations, opportunities for performance and energy efficiency, and lowering costs. And so I found it very interesting to hear about the efforts around the world to develop these OTICs, which are so critical to addressing and solving the challenges and presenting opportunities. And so, for example, expanding market entry, reducing time to market, and reducing costs. But it can’t be done alone. We need to collaborate between the OTICs, with the labs, industry collaboration is key, and governments have a role to support as well. And finally, I was very impressed by the synergies between this workshop and the Internet Governance Forum. So we are discussing Open RAN, but it also relates to these broader issues. So we heard about AI and workforce, and bridging the digital divide, and supporting an equitable and inclusive approach to telecom ecosystems. And it’s also part of the multi-stakeholder approach, involving academic institutions, for example. And so it all comes together, and I’m very grateful, again, to the Japanese for organizing this important event, and to all of you for participating. Thank you.

Tawara Yasuo:
Thank you very much, two wonderful moderators, Mr. Hishida and Ms. Jayshia, thank you very much again. Anyway, open network is a very, very important issue. So open and secure network, we will construct and we will realize that such network is very important for future Internet, for future network. So anyway, we will strongly promote Open RAN policy issues continuously with our colleagues, with our like-minded countries. Anyway, thank you very much today. Thank you.