Viavi Solutions Inc. and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) announced a strategic collaboration aimed at expanding the testing capabilities of the VIAVI Automated Lab -as-a-Service for Open RAN (VALOR??). VALOR, made possible by a $21.7 million grant from the U.S. National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund (PWSCIF), provides fully-automated, open and impartial testing and integration for Open RAN. VALOR provides a pathway to certification in the U.S. for new entrants, startups, and academia and ensures the interoperability, performance, and security of Open RAN components.

TIP, a global consortium dedicated to advancing and adopting open and disaggregated networks, thrives on the collective contributions of its member companies. These contributions are critical to bringing innovation to the industry and facilitating a collaborative environment where innovative technologies are developed, tested, and certified, ready for deployment. VIAVI's involvement with TIP exemplifies this collaborative spirit.

By bringing VALOR's test-as-a-service capabilities to TIP, VIAVI advances the mission of TIP's OpenRAN Project Group (PG) and enhances the broader industry's ability to implement and certify Open RAN technologies. TIP-authorized labs expand on the success of TIP's network of Community Labs. This collaboration will streamline the certification process by VALOR becoming the first TIP-authorized test lab, reducing duplication of efforts and accelerating time-to-market for Open RAN solutions.

TIP's and VIAVI's strategic cooperation promotes innovation and broad industry alignment, driving widespread adoption of Open RAN technologies globally. Strategic Collaboration Overview: Key Benefits and Contributions: VALOR offers cloud-based and virtual testing capabilities critical for modern, scalable network performance assessments. These capabilities will be incorporated into TIP's system performance certification program, providing a robust and flexible testing framework for component vendors and operators.

Enhancing Testing Capabilities: VIAVI and TIP will enhance VALOR's testing capabilities that build on top of the O-RAN test specifications. This comprehensive approach will support the TIP community by ensuring that Open RAN systems meet high-performance standards and are robust enough to handle real-world network complexities, thereby maintaining service quality and reducing downtime. In addition to the extreme performance testing, VALOR's Open RAN virtual testing environment brings new capabilities to TIP Labs and the community.

This strategic engagement fosters innovation, improves supply chain resilience, and accelerates the global adoption of Open RAN technologies, offering operators more flexible, cost-effective, and high-performance network solutions.