US DoD O-RAN Design Challenge

Author: EIS Release Date: Apr 20, 2022

The US DoD is offering prize money for solutions to O-RAN inter-operability issues.

 

A statement from the DoD reads:

 

‘The DoD, in collaboration with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Institute for Telecommunication Sciences (ITS), announced today the launch of the 5G Challenge Preliminary Event: RAN Subsystem Interoperability.’

 

‘The 5G Challenge aims to foster a large, vibrant, and diverse vendor community dedicated to advancing 5G interoperability towards true plug-and-play operation, and unleashing a new era of technological innovation based on this critical technology.’

 

‘This 5G Challenge Preliminary Event: RAN Subsystem Interoperability will award up to $3,000,000 to participants who submit hardware and/or software solutions for any or all of the following 5G network subsystems, which must be compliant with the 3GPP Release 15 Standard and O-RAN Alliance Specifications: Distributed Unit (DU), Central Unit (CU), and Radio Unit (RU).’

 

‘Interoperability is open for applications through May 5, 2022.’

 

‘For applications and additional information on this 2022 contest, please visit www.challenge.gov.’

 

The challenge is being hosted by CableLabs of Louisville. Participants will be given time in the lab with an emulated 5G system, two SA 5G cores and two vRANs. 

 

Those whose designs are selected will be splitting one of two prize pools: 

 

Up to 12 teams will split $2 million ($150,000 each) at the end of stage two of the competition (emulated integration), and one team will win an additional $200,000. 

 

At the network integration stage up to four teams will each get $250,000.