Post-Open RAN: how to match classical supply chain efficiency & achieve TCO goals

1. Open RAN System Release Validation
Interim Review
10th June 2021

2. Scope of this Research
• Explain the reasons why Open RAN needs an independent System Release Validation (SRV) process
in order to accelerate market readiness and confidence to stimulate widespread adoption
• Identify and articulate the current gap in the Open RAN ecosystem that SRV addresses and the
reasons why SRV for Open RAN is not happening today
• Set out what’s needed in terms of an SRV process in order to address that gap and why UKTL could
become a viable entity to fulfil the provision of “SRV-as-a-Service (SRVaaS)" for the telecom industry
• Identify any potentially required liaison agreements with other national or international bodies e.g.
TIP, O-RAN Alliance, OTIC etc to ensure UKTL’s SRVaaS offering remains relevant as the market
evolves

3. Problem Statement:
Disaggregation disrupts traditional supply chain efficiencies
• Major incumbent vendors have >100 years of system engineering experience
• They are masters in the art of System Release Management
• Full RAN system is validated once at “goods out” for every major release
• Both functionality and performance are validated
• Who will take this responsibility in the new disaggregated Open RAN ecosystem?
1919 1939 1969

4. Current scope of SONIC + UKTL
9.0 or a Perfect Ten?
Defini&on of TRL 10*:
“Use of the technology in a recurrent manner as part of
a tested, validated and use-cer9fied system with
characterized and acceptable levels of unplanned
troubleshoo9ng and repair required. This TRL includes
upgrades and refinements to improve the func9onality
of the opera9ng system, repair latent defects and
reduce troubleshoo9ng and repair requirements. “
* “In search of technology readiness level (TRL) 10”
Jeremy Straub, Department of Computer Science,
University of North Dakota
Aerospace Science and Technology
Volume 46, October–November 2015, Pages 312-320

6. Open RAN System Release Validation as a Service
• Restoring the natural efficiency of a holistic system
• Enabling “Test Once, Deploy Many Times”

7. SRV Pilot successfully concluded in Q1’20
Scope Duration Result Conclusion
3 RAN
vendors
16 weeks 56 issues found &
fixed in timely
manner
60% faster to test a release centrally with
SRV, vs per operator
45 test
cases
4 weeks
actual test
execution
Details are under
NDA between Pilot
participants
Creates confidence in functional,
performance and operational capability of a
specific combination of OpenRAN products,
combined into a full, deployable RAN system
€1.8Bn
Operator TCO
cost reduction
over 5 years
>60%
reduction in
Testing
Effort
1 year
acceleration
in OpenRAN
market
readiness
$3.4Bn
(45%) increase
in OpenRAN
vendor revenue
over 5 years
Secure
OpenRAN
deployment
in 5G
investment
window
Market Impact Forecast:

8. How do we execute on SRV?
Build Buy Partner & Franchise
Pros
• Retain full control • Retain full control • Scale fast & globally
• Specialist skills
available
• Low risk
Cons
• High cost, delayed
launch
• Required skills are
extremely rare =
launch delay
• Slow to scale
• Upfront cost
• Difficult to scale
globally
• TIP overhead to select
& integrate supplier
• Looser control
(mitigated by
franchise model)
Recommended
Approach
• Network of 3rd party test houses with specific domain
expertise
• TIP retains control and ownership of intellectual assets
• Offers TIP an opportunity to test the partnership & franchise
model, then scale
Examples of potential partners:

9. SRV-as-a-Service Business model
TIP PG roadmaps (directed by Tech
Committee)
TIP Testing &
Validation
TIP OpenRAN Annual
Releases
R1 R2
R3 R4
R5 R6
TIP OpenRAN Members
OpenRAN
Operators
OpenRAN
Vendors
- Baseband
- Radio
TIP
Community
Lab
TIP SRV
Product
test
against
Release ref
design
E2E
Interop
CL Badged
OpenRAN
vendors
TIP
Plugfest
Per Release
Test cycles for
each Vendor
permutation
R1 Rn
SRV-Badged OpenRAN
Vendor permutations
Operator beneficiaries
Access Backhaul Core &
Management
Blueprint
Badged
OpenRAN
vendors

12. System Release Valida-on
iden-fied but s-ll not
being addressed ⚠

13. 1. Need
Recognition
2. Need
Definition
4. Supplier
Identification
3. Solution
Specification
5. Proposal
Solicitation
7. Negotiate
Order &
Contract
6. Supplier
Selection
8. Performance
Review
RFI stage RFP stage
Typical MNO Stakeholders within the telecom equipment procurement cycle
Standardisation
Expert
Strategy &
Architecture
Director
Domain Head of
Strategy &
Architecture
Domain Architect
Head of Industry
Rela=ons &
Standards
R&D
Director
Responsible
Accountable
Consulted
Informed
Domain Head of
Strategy &
Architecture
Domain Architect
Domain Head of
Procurement
Category Manager
Head of Central
Operations
Head of
Regional/Field Ops
Operations Director
Domain Head of
Engineering
Domain Engineering
Expert
Standardisation
Expert
Opera=ons Director
Strategy &
Architecture
Director
Domain Head of
Engineering
Domain Head of
Procurement
Category Manager
Head of Central
Operations
Head of
Regional/Field Ops
Domain Head of
Engineering
Domain Engineering
Expert
Engineering
Director
Operations Director
Engineering
Director
Network
Procurement
Director
Based on Kotler, P. & Keller, K.L. (2007)
Product Marketing
Director
Head of Product
Management
Product Manager Product Manager Product Manager
Chief Marketing
Officer
Chief Technology
Officer
[Excerpt from Stakeholders and Behaviours in Telecom Equipment Procurement, Jonesthefone Consulting and MightyWaters]

14. Typical attitudes towards risk
within the telecom equipment procurement cycle
Strategy &
Architecture
Director
Chief Technology
Officer
Domain Head of
Strategy &
Architecture
Engineering
Director
Domain Head of
Engineering
R&D
Director
Head of Industry
Relations &
Standards
Domain Engineering
Expert
Domain Architect
Resistive
Evangelist
Receptive
Evaluate
Approve
Specify
Advocate
Accept &
Use
Re-
commend
Attitudes towards
supply chain
diversification:
Roles in the
procurement
process:
Operations
Director
Head of Central
Operations
Head of
Regional/Field Ops
Chief Procurement
Officer
Network
Procurement
Director
Domain Head of
Procurement
Category Manager
Standardisation
Expert
Network Operation
Centre Shift Leader
Domain Field
Operations Team
Leader
Receptive to new technologies
Resistive to new vendors
Insulated from Operations’
objections
Well-defined processes for status quo
Fear of “selling” change to Operations
Procurement do not
have streamlined
processes or
commercial
leniency to nurture
new vendors
PercepCon of
Dependency Risk
is not percolated down
the org
Company Risk dominates
Buyer Risk dominates
Favours short-term stability over
long-term viability
Favours long-term
viability over short-
term stability
Chief Marketing
Officer
Product Marketing
Director
Head of Product
Management
Product Manager
[Excerpt from Stakeholders and Behaviours in Telecom Equipment Procurement, Jonesthefone Consulting and MightyWaters]

15. UKTL’s Role and Purpose within the Ecosystem
The UKTL’s purpose is “security-first” but its remit is broader than that. Implicit within its “build and connect” mission, the UKTL
will connect existing disparate capabilities into a holistic capability for the UK Telecom sector. This has the further implication that
the scope is not limited to security, since the nature of those existing capabilities is not limited to security, but already extends to
other aspects of investigation, research and testing.
Furthermore, in describing the UKTL’s remit as “security-first”, the definition of “security” should not be limited to a narrow focus
on “cyber”, but instead should extend to become a “zero trust model” encompassing many orthogonal non-functional
requirements into a far broader definition of security as it relates both to the UK’s legacy telecom networks and to emerging
telecom technologies in light of the fact that these constitute a significant portion of the UK’s national critical infrastructure. These
other dimensions to security include - but need not be limited to - the availability; reliability; longevity; vendor viability;
maintainability; scalability; performance; ability to meet investigatory obligations.
Meanwhile, the UKTL will also play a pivotal role in delivering outcomes to realise the UK Telecom Supply Chain Diversification
agenda, not least because diversification is a major enabler for the broader definition of security outlined above. There remain
significant capability gaps – both nationally and internationally – that will hamper the adoption of diversification initiatives such as
Open RAN. The UKTL can leverage its “hub” role to address these gaps, thereby accelerating market readiness – particularly in
the fields of disaggregation (multi-vendor interoperability) and reaggregation (system release validation).
[Excerpt from UKTL Target State Blueprint, Section 6.]

16. UKTL’s Role and Purpose within the Ecosystem – with respect to SRV
Level 1 Services Pre-deployment Evaluation Methodology Guidance
Level 1 Service Description
This service provides creation, maintenance, quality assurance,
recording of pre-deployment evaluation specifications and
methodologies. It also provides best practice advice and expertise
related to these specifications and methods.
• UKTL provides leadership and stewardship of the test
specification for System Release Validation (SRV), which is the
process organisations can use to conduct a pre-deployment
evaluation of new components.
• UKTL will monitor SRV practices and issues at regular intervals, in
order to update guidance and specifications
Outputs
• Pre-deployment evaluation specifications
• Pre-deployment evaluation methods & advice
Features & Assumptions
• The UKTL will NOT provide SRV/pre-deployment evaluation of
telecoms components
• Pre-deployment evaluations will be conducted by a range of
organisations within the UK telecoms ecosystem
Dependencies, Notes & Comments
• Dependent on staff with relevant skills being recruited and
onboarded at suitable rate
• Expectation that SRV will function like a franchise model across
the UK telecoms ecosystem
[Excerpt from UKTL Services Catalogue v0.6, dated 2021.03.29]

17. The UKTL Partner Ecosystem
The Telecom Partner Ecosystem will
consist of the following constituencies:
Telecom operators
Telecom equipment vendors
Regulator - Ofcom
NCSC
Test equipment manufacturers and
distributors
System Integrators
Specialist test houses
Ethical hackers
Existing UK Testbeds and Trials
Academia
Industry bodies – TIP, O-RAN Alliance,
GSMA etc
Standards organisations – 3GPP, ETSI
etc
International partners – other national
governments, regulators, EU, FVEY,
NATO etc
Vitally important to aggregate scale of demand internationally to
restore natural efficiency within the supply chain