The Open Source Focus Group (OSFG) of the O-RAN ALLIANCE convened an ad-hoc meeting on May 23, 2025, hosted by Ericsson in Kista, Sweden. The goal: to identify key open source initiatives relevant to O-RAN, evaluate testing infrastructure needs, and begin planning a collaborative workshop for later this year. The event brought together participants from the O-RAN Software Community (SC), O-RAN Working and Focus Groups, and multiple member companies across the ecosystem.
Key Objectives of the Meeting
Strengthen awareness of O-RAN-related efforts in open source communities.
Explore collaboration opportunities for testing, orchestration, and management tools.
Address infrastructure funding challenges.
Align on planning for a dedicated OSFG workshop later in 2025.
OSFG Mission and Opening Remarks
The meeting began with a restatement of OSFG’s mission, led by Co-Chairs Irfan Ghauri (EURECOM/OpenAirInterface), James Li (China Mobile), and David Kinsey (AT&T), supported by Martin Skorupski (Highstreet Technologies). The group reaffirmed its commitment to openness, transparency, and non-confidential discussion per O-RAN ALLIANCE guidelines.
Technical Presentations and Community Mapping
A series of technical presentations offered insight into open source workstreams intersecting with O-RAN priorities:
Robert Schmidt (OAI): Shared updates on network functions and near-RT RIC.
Sagar Arora (OAI): Presented on cloud infrastructure projects like Nephio and O2.
Martin Skorupski (highstreet technologies): Discussed managing O-RAN network functions in open source.
John Keeney (Ericsson EST): Provided insight into ONAP/OSC/Nephio SMO and Non-RT RIC integration strategies.
Building Bridges with Open Source Projects
OSFG is actively working to align with other Linux Foundation and CNCF projects. Efforts include outreach and coordination with:
ONAP, OpenDaylight, Nephio, Anuket (O-Cloud, Test Specifications)
xTesting, L3AF, Essedum, and potential collaboration with CNCF projects such as CAMARA.
5G Super Blueprint/CNTI: Relevant test catalog use cases were discussed, though more engagement is needed.
The group discussed possibly inviting representatives from these projects to the next OSFG workshop.
Security and the EU Cyber Resilience Act
A brief update on the EU Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) was delivered by Jimmy Ahlberg (Ericsson). Key takeaways:
No current legal liability for OSFG or O-RAN SC under CRA.
Nonetheless, the group acknowledged a need to develop a consistent security posture, especially regarding CVE reporting and resolution.
OSFG supports a transition toward a Zero Trust Architecture but recognizes current codebases are still based on trust assumptions.
Sridhar Rao (Linux Foundation) led a discussion on O-RAN SC’s CVE process—covering scanning, dashboard reporting, and plans to bring on interns to address critical issues by the end of 2025. The group is also exploring whether CVE data should be published on [cve.org] and/or in blog posts.
A proposal was made to request funding for security interns via TOC (Technical Oversight Committee). The broader question of each project’s security stance (“want to fix,” “not interested,” etc.) remains open and will be addressed at the project level in O-RAN SC meetings.
Strengthening Cross-Org Collaboration
The OSFG officially acknowledged the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between O-RAN ALLIANCE and the Linux Foundation Networking (LFN), which establishes a basis for inviting LFN participants into OSFG activities. The meeting explored ways to streamline the invitation process for recurring contributors.
Next Steps and Upcoming Workshop
The group concluded with action items to support an upcoming workshop tentatively targeted for September 2025. Nephio is already planning a face-to-face event, and a joint session with OSFG/O-RAN SC was proposed. The group aims to:
Finalize dates and agenda.
Reach out to relevant open source projects for participation.
Confirm venue logistics and shared funding options.
Looking Ahead
The OSFG ad-hoc meeting in Kista underscored the importance of open collaboration, strategic alignment, and technical integration between the O-RAN ecosystem and open source communities. With a renewed focus on testing infrastructure, security posture, and a shared workshop agenda, the group is poised to enhance the impact of open RAN across global deployments.For additional details or to get involved, please visit the O-RAN SC website.
The O-RAN Software Community (SC) is proud to participate in the O-RAN ALLIANCE Face-to-Face (F2F) Meeting this week in Fukuoka, Japan—a vital gathering that brings together stakeholders from across the global Radio Access Network (RAN) ecosystem. This event is a cornerstone of collaboration, offering a unique opportunity for in-person discussions, planning, and alignment between industry experts from around the world.
With 320 experts from 94 companies and institutions joining in person—and many more connecting remotely—this meeting is a vibrant hub of innovation and progress. Participants span a wide range of sectors, including mobile network operators (MNOs), vendors, research institutions, academia, and government agencies, all working toward the common goal of defining and advancing open, intelligent, and disaggregated RAN.
Throughout the week, 11 parallel work streams run from morning to evening, filled with Work Group and Focus Group sessions. These intensive meetings allow the community to align on architecture, specifications, implementation plans, and interoperability—all essential for advancing the O-RAN vision. Despite time zones or travel fatigue, the energy is high, and the focus is clear: building the future of RAN together.
Face-to-face collaboration plays a critical role in accelerating standardization and resolving complex challenges. That’s why the O-RAN ALLIANCE organizes F2F meetings three times per year, rotating between Asia, Europe, and the Americas. These gatherings help deepen community bonds and strengthen cross-organizational efforts.
The O-RAN Software Community is grateful for the continued dedication of all its members and participants who contribute their time, expertise, and vision. Thank you for helping move the needle toward an open and interoperable RAN ecosystem.
Stay tuned for more updates from Fukuoka and follow our journey at o-ran-sc.org and on LinkedIn.
The adoption of the RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) in networks encounters several challenges that may impede its objective and efficiency. To enable efficient and plug-and-play use cases, we can categorize these challenges into two key areas:
Legacy SON Platform Limitations: The development and operational life-cycle of Self-Organizing Network (SON) modules is inherently slow due to the absence of a robust testing framework. The lack of a digital twin environment for network simulation and validation significantly hampers efficiency. Moreover, traditional SON platforms are not inherently designed to evolve with AI-driven methodologies, limiting their adaptability to dynamic network conditions and next-generation automation frameworks.
High Barriers to Entry for xApp/rApp Ecosystem: A fundamental advantage of RIC is its ability to foster an open, interoperable ecosystem where third-party applications can be seamlessly integrated through standardized interfaces. However, the high costs associated with xApp/rApp testing and certification present a major hurdle for independent software vendors (ISVs), researchers, and academia. While RIC has expanded the ecosystem beyond traditional network equipment vendors to include a diverse set of stakeholders—such as Communication Service Providers (CSPs) and academic institutions—the financial and technical burdens of testing remain a key inhibitor to broader adoption and innovation.
Action
To address the aforementioned challenges, Orange has announced the development of RIC Testing as a Platform (RIC-TaaP)—an open source initiative designed to streamline xApp/rApp functional and operational testing, fostering innovation in xApp/rApp design and provide a proven digital-twin networks.
Recognizing the need for a robust, fully open source testing environment, Orange Innovation Egypt (OIE) has focused on enabling system-level use cases by leveraging advanced open source components. To achieve this, OIE has integrated FlexRIC from EURECOM with the ns-O-RAN simulator, originally developed by the Institute for the Wireless Internet of Things (WIoT) ,University of Padova and Mavenir. The team has enhanced the simulator to ensure full compliance with E2AP v1.01, KPM v3, and RC v1.03 standards, providing a sophisticated 5G simulation environment for validating complex use cases.
Committed to openness and accessibility, Orange ensures that RIC-TaaP remains an open source and user-friendly platform, making Open RAN research and development more accessible to a broader community of engineers and researchers.
Key Components of RIC-TaaP
To establish a fully capable platform for xApp/rApp design and testing, RIC-TaaP comprises nine key components. These elements collectively form a flexible and robust network simulation environment, enabling efficient xApp/rApp development, validation, and deployment.
FlexRIC – the implementation of the Near-RT RIC functionality, developed by EURECOM under the Mosaic5G project.
NONRTRIC – Represents the Non-RT RIC functionality, developed by the O-RAN Software Community (OSC).
ns-O-RAN Simulator – OIE introduces an enhanced version of the ns-O-RAN simulator, originally developed by the WIoT at Northeastern University. This upgraded version now supports standardized E2AP (11 messages) and service models, including KPMv3 and RCv1.03. Additionally, the E2 termination has been optimized for full compliance with FlexRIC E2 termination, ensuring seamless interoperability.
– CONTROL Service Style 3 (Section 7.6) – Connected Mode Mobility Management (Section 7.6.4) – Control Action ID 1 (Handover Control) (Section 8.4.4.1) – Control Action ID 2 (Conditional Handover Control) (Section 8.4.4.2) – Control Action ID 3 (DAPS Handover Control) (Section 8.4.4.3)
5G-LENA NR module: To extend the simulation capabilities, the team integrates the 5G-LENA module that covers the SU-MIMO and Enhanced PHY/MAC layer capabilities.
A1 Mediator: OIP introduces a new version of OSC A1 mediator that can transfer A1 Policy Management (A1-P) into internal FlexRIC’xApps to smoothly transfer A1-P to xApp logic and operation.
O1sim: Represents the O1 termination of the ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC platform, enabling Performance Measurement (PM) and Configuration Measurement (CM) in O1 NETCONF format. This ensures smooth integration of Service Management and Orchestration (SMO).
OSIRIS: Moving towards a Digital Twin network, RIC-TaaP incorporates the OSIRIS tool, which enables vendor-specific KPI monitoring across different time frames. This tool—or any equivalent alternative—plays a key role in AI-driven rApp development, facilitating the exchange of control actions with twin networks via the ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC platform.
RIC-TaaP Studio: RIC TaaP Studio allows users to run ns-3 simulations without needing a deep development background. It provides real-time monitoring of simulation status and key performance indicators (KPIs) for Cells and UEs, with more features planned for future releases. RIC TaaP Studio integrates a powerful combination of a graphical user interface (GUI), InfluxDB, and Grafana. The OIP team developed both the backend and frontend for the GUI and made enhancements to the ns-3 simulator to enable GUI interactions.
xApp/rApp Examples: The team provide a E2E Energy Saving usecase that include:
Control Actions: the team implemented the Mobility Management according RCv1.03 to initiate Hand Over (HO) commands.
Reported KPIs: the team extends the reported KPIs from the ns-3 simulator to support a wide number of KPIs suitable for different xApp usecases.
RIC-TaaP studio dashboards: The dashboard includes a new visualization tap for Energy Saving sub-usecase “cell/carrier switch ON/Off” in terms of the saving gain and performance KPIs to monitor the network before and after the xApp/rApp operation.
Results
Use-case 21: Energy Saving under Cell Utilization “Cell on/off” as an example
The Energy Saving (ES) logic example in RIC-TaaP is driven by cell utilization, particularly Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage (%). The decision-making process follows a structured sequence, as illustrated in the diagram below:
Sequence of Operations After xApp Execution
xApp Requests KPM Report
The xApp triggers a KPM Report (Style 4) request for UEs where PRB usage falls below the defined threshold.
E2 Termination Processes KPM Report Request
The E2 termination at ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC prepares the KPM report and subscription request for the relevant UEs.
xApp Analyzes SINR Map
The xApp evaluates the SINR map of surrounding cells to determine suitable candidates for handover.
xApp Sends Handover (HO/CHO) Commands
The xApp initiates a Connected Mobility procedure by sending Handover (HO) or Conditional Handover (CHO) commands using RIC CONTROL Style 3.
ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC Executes Handover
The handover is executed, and the E2 termination at ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC sends an acknowledgment to confirm the procedure.
xApp Requests Updated KPM Report for SINR Map
The xApp requests another KPM Report (Style 4) to obtain an updated SINR map post-handover.
E2 Termination Generates Updated KPM Report
The ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC prepares the requested KPM report based on the latest subscription request.
xApp Analyzes UE SINR Post-Handover
The xApp evaluates the new SINR values for UEs after mobility decisions.
xApp Modifies Energy State
Based on SINR and cell utilization, the xApp adjusts the Energy State of the Cell/Sector/Carrier to optimize power consumption.
ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC Applies New Energy State
The ns-O-RAN-FlexRIC enforces the new Energy State configuration as requested by the xApp.
The Energy Dashboard in RIC-TaaP Studio provides real-time monitoring of network performance and energy efficiency metrics. It includes three key categories:
1. QoS Parameters
L3 SINR (dB): Displays the Signal-to-Interference-plus-Noise Ratio (SINR) for all UEs in the scenario, measured at Layer 3.
PRB Usage (%): Indicates the Physical Resource Block (PRB) utilization for each cell in the scenario.
Total Downlink Transport Block Errors (ErrTotalNbrDl): Represents the cumulative number of downlink transport block errors detected on the UE side.
2. Energy Consumption Metrics
Energy Consumption (J): Measures the total energy consumption before and after xApp execution, allowing for comparative analysis of energy efficiency improvements.
Average Power Consumption (W): Calculates the average power consumption across all cells in the scenario.
3. Energy State Mode
Cell Power-Off Flag: Displays an indicator for each cell, signaling whether it has been switched off as part of energy-saving mechanisms.
Orange Team Leaders & Members
Domain Leader: Eric Hardouin, Orange Innovation, eric.hardouin@orange.com
Program Leader: Fabrice Guillemin, Orange Innovation, fabrice.guillemin@orange.com
