On October 12th, I'll be attending Evolve 2022 in NYC. Truly the data event to end all data events, the intimate one-day event is hosted by industry luminaries Cloudera, IBM and Intel. While I should disclose that I will be one of the featured speakers at the event, believe me when I say that I would be there regardless. The event will be a who's who of data leaders and enthusiasts focused on digital, analytics, innovation and digital transformation, spanning industries including but not limited to financial services, insurance, retail, communications and manufacturing. Come to Evolve 2022 for curated sessions, thought-provoking keynotes, peer-to-peer discussions and plenty of personal networking. Leave with new knowledge, professional connections and, hopefully, inspiration to implement a transformative data strategy at your own business. I recently hosted Hannah Smalltree, Senior Director at Cloudera, on my Insider Podcast. I learned more about the upcoming event, the world of data today and how her company fits into it. She brought a wealth of knowledge to our conversation from her long history of working in the data world as a tech reporter and editor. I'd like to share some of that here today.

While not super well-known outside of the data world, Cloudera is one of the world's top enterprise data platform companies. In my estimation, it is the only game in town for end-to-end data management across hybrid, multi-cloud and on-prem. Beyond simply gathering and storing data, Cloudera's platform seeks to quickly and easily analyze data. Moreover, it tracks and secures this data across all an organization's environments.

Smalltree first noticed data science's potential as a competitive differentiator while working as a tech reporter. In my capacity as a tech analyst, I've also seen how the companies with the most comprehensive data strategies seem to be pulling ahead of the pack. Unlocking the power of data analytics is a crucial tenant of a successful digital transformation. Yet, as Smalltree noted, it's not always the most accessible Topic to talk about in print.

This brings us to what the hosts are trying to do with Evolve: put together a live, in-person event expressly for the data people: the Chief Data Officers, heads of analytics, aspiring Chief Data Officers, lead data scientists, senior VPs and others in data leadership roles. Evolve 2022 seeks to bring all these data visionaries together to discuss making the data-driven enterprise a reality—how to get things done, how to design flexible architectures, how to leverage AI, how to drive data culture, how to harness real-time data and how to find and retain data talent. In Smalltree's words, it's "a little bit less about demos and code and more about how people leverage technology and mobilize lots of resources to deliver outcomes."

I cover countless conferences and events every year, so believe me when I say that Evolve 2022 looks like it will be a one-of-kind, can't-miss experience for anyone in the world of data science. It's not the only conference with data at the center—the old Strata Data Conference comes to mind—but it will be smaller and more intimate than any other event related to data and analytics I'm aware of. Forget about the giant Expo halls and the inscrutable technical sessions. According to Smalltree, this smaller format will allow attendees to connect and talk more in-depth about design concepts, best practices and leadership skills around data and analytics. The event will still offer many illuminating speaker sessions—Josh Wardle, the software engineer who created the massively popular Wordle word puzzle, for one. However, Smalltree says Evolve is just as much about having a conversation with the person sitting next to you about what is going on with data in their organization.

My favorite events are always the smaller ones, where you get to rub shoulders with company leaders and share stories and experiences with fellow industry folk. It's something I have missed a lot over the last several years as the pandemic forced most events to go virtual. The fact is, you learn and connect in a different way face-to-face. While we're lucky to have the tools to attend events virtually when it is too difficult to make the trip in person, there's nothing like the real thing. If you're a data fanatic like me and only attend one event in person this year, you'd be wise to make it Evolve 2022. I'll see you there. You can sign up here.

Note: Moor Insights & Strategy writers and editors may have contributed to this article.

Moor Insights & Strategy, like all research and tech industry analyst firms, provides or has provided paid services to technology companies. These services include research, analysis, advising, consulting, benchmarking, acquisition matchmaking, and speaking sponsorships. The company has had or currently has paid business relationships with 8×8, Accenture, A10 Networks, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Amazon Web Services, Ambient Scientific, Anuta Networks, Applied Brain Research, Applied Micro, Apstra, Arm, Aruba Networks (now HPE), Atom Computing, AT&T, Aura, Automation Anywhere, AWS, A-10 Strategies, Bitfusion, Blaize, Box, Broadcom, C3.AI, Calix, Campfire, Cisco Systems, Clear Software, Cloudera, Clumio, Cognitive Systems, CompuCom, Cradlepoint, CyberArk, Dell, Dell EMC, Dell Technologies, Diablo Technologies, Dialogue Group, Digital Optics, Dreamium Labs, D-Wave, Echelon, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, Five9, Flex, Foundries.io, Foxconn, Frame (now VMware), Fujitsu, Gen Z Consortium, Glue Networks, GlobalFoundries, Revolve (now Google), Google Cloud, Graphcore, Groq, Hiregenics, Hotwire Global, HP Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Honeywell, Huawei Technologies, IBM, Infinidat, Infosys, Inseego, IonQ, IonVR, Inseego, Infosys, Infiot, Intel, Interdigital, Jabil Circuit, Keysight, Konica Minolta, Lattice Semiconductor, Lenovo, Linux Foundation, Lightbits Labs, LogicMonitor, Luminar, MapBox, Marvell Technology, Mavenir, Marseille Inc, Mayfair Equity, Meraki (Cisco), Merck KGaA, Mesophere, Micron Technology, Microsoft, MiTEL, Mojo Networks, MongoDB, MulteFire Alliance, National Instruments, Neat, NetApp, Nightwatch, NOKIA (Alcatel-Lucent), Nortek, Novumind, NVIDIA, Nutanix, Nuvia (now Qualcomm), onsemi, ONUG, OpenStack Foundation, Oracle, Palo Alto Networks, Panasas, Peraso, Pexip, Pixelworks, Plume Design, PlusAI, Poly (formerly Plantronics), Portworx, Pure Storage, Qualcomm, Quantinuum, Rackspace, Rambus, Rayvolt E-Bikes, Red Hat, Renesas, Residio, Samsung Electronics, Samsung Semi, SAP, SAS, Scale Computing, Schneider Electric, SiFive, Silver Peak (now Aruba-HPE), SkyWorks, SONY Optical Storage, Splunk, Springpath (now Cisco), Spirent, Splunk, Sprint (now T-Mobile), Stratus Technologies, Symantec, Synaptics, Syniverse, Synopsys, Tanium, Telesign,TE Connectivity, TensTorrent, Tobii Technology, Teradata,T-Mobile, Treasure Data, Twitter, Unity Technologies, UiPath, Verizon Communications, VAST Data, Ventana Micro Systems, Vidyo, VMware, Wave Computing, Wellsmith, Xilinx, Zayo, Zebra, Zededa, Zendesk, Zoho, Zoom, and Zscaler. Moor Insights & Strategy founder, CEO, and Chief Analyst Patrick Moorhead is an investor in dMY Technology Group Inc. VI, Dreamium Labs, Groq, Luminar Technologies, MemryX, and Movandi.

Moor Insights & Strategy founder, CEO, and Chief Analyst Patrick Moorhead is an investor in dMY Technology Group Inc. VI, Dreamium Labs, Groq, Luminar Technologies, MemryX, and Movand

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Two incumbents on the Santa Clara Valley Water District Board of Directors, Gary Kremen and Tony Estremera, face challengers this November.

Kremen, whose district 7 includes Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno and southern parts of San Jose, is going head-to-head with Rebecca Eisenberg, a Palo Alto attorney.

Valley Water is confronting multiple challenges as it tries to develop a workable strategy to keep water flowing, protect streams and control flooding now and into the county's future. The district is facing a historic drought, a federally mandated infrastructure rebuild that has sidelined Anderson Reservoir – the county's largest – and an astronomical cost increase for its planned desalination plant in Palo Alto.

While the district does not provide water to Palo Alto, which is a customer of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, it funds water-related infrastructure projects in and affecting the city. The district's annual budget is $917 million.

Kremen, a businessman, engineer and founder of the dating website Match.com, first won a seat on the board in 2014. As chairman of the district board, he worked with the San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) to complete the first phase of the San Francisquito Creek flood control project in East Palo Alto in 2016.

He also supported the indefinite extension of the water district tax, Measure S, in 2020, which brings in $45.5 million annually for the Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection program. The program uses the funds for flood control, seismic upgrades and wildlife protection. Voters approved the tax measure by 75.06%.

He has supported and advocated for alternative drinking-water sources, such as purified water, to expand the county's water supply.

Kremen has also gotten into some hot water. He also voted to put Measure A on the 2022 primary ballot, a measure to extend the limit on board members' terms from three to four; the misleading ballot description drew criticism for stating the measure would "limit" the number of terms, not increase the existing number allowed.

He pulled out of the election for county tax assessor this year and temporarily removed himself from the board's chairmanship after allegations of sexual harassment. A campaign staffer accused him of sharing photos of himself and his partner nude from the waist up in bed. Kremen said on Wednesday the photo was a breastfeeding photo.

Kremen has said in news reports that the photos were part of a large Dropbox dump used to store campaign-related photos. He has said he hadn't checked to see if any were of an intimate nature. Other staffers have also accused him of bullying. He requested an independent ethics investigation to clear himself, and a preliminary summary is expected in early October.

Eisenberg has cited her long career working on business and financial teams and her work for community good as some of her qualifications for the board. She took PayPal public in 2002, merged Flip Video with Cisco in 2008, and spun Reddit off its former parent company in 2012. On the nonprofit side, Eisenberg helped launch charitable organizations including the Craigslist Foundation and Kiva.org, an international microfinance lending nonprofit.

She describes herself as a team player, "forward thinker" and a problem solver.

Growing up near the shores of Lake Michigan, Eisenberg said she has been a passionate water advocate and environmentalist her entire life. In 1983, while in high school, she conducted experimental studies on the eutrophication of Lake Michigan that became a part of the University of Wisconsin's growing body of research, she said.

The following summer, she spent three weeks in Israel working on a kibbutz at what was then the world's leading manufacturer of agricultural drip irrigation products, which gave her hands-on experience with water technologies in desert conditions.

At Stanford University, she completed the newly launched human biology curriculum, which taught pre-med biology within the context of sociological and ecological consequences of human actions, she said.

The Weekly asked both candidates for their views on four courses related to their qualifications, drought mitigation, future water planning and paying for the desalination plant in Palo Alto. Here, edited for length, are their responses:

Q: Why do you think you are the best person for the job?

EISENBERG: I have a 30-year record of successful accomplishments in Silicon Valley, working on diverse teams to achieve mutually beneficial goals. My work has changed lives by creating economic opportunity, well-paid jobs, greater equity, sustainability and fairness to employees, residents, businesspeople, and communities. Additionally, I am known for my integrity, honesty, transparency and work ethic. I am a team player, forward-thinker and problem solver who approaches challenges with a perspective of positive long-term consequences and community benefit.

KREMEN: With 12 years of water leadership and being both an engineer and a business person, I have a demonstrated track record of standing up for Palo Alto residents on water issues. An accomplishment includes jumpstarting the downstream repair of the flood prone San Francisquito Creek after a 19-year delay. Another accomplishment includes stopping the destruction of Palo Alto creeks by increasing creek cleanup while rehousing the homeless who live in these environmentally sensitive areas. Yet other accomplishments include fighting southern California/Big Agriculture water grabs, increased funding for conservation and water recycling including a $16 million direct grant for Palo Alto's wastewater treatment plant for salt removals so the water can be used for Palo Alto's redwood trees.

Q: We are in a serious drought. What is your vision for keeping the water flowing now, and into the future?

EISENBERG: The current drought is unlikely to end any time soon. Meanwhile, our existing natural water resources are quickly depleting. In California, as elsewhere, we are depleting water from rivers, aquifers, reservoirs and the ground at rates that are exponentially faster than what can be replenished. We are running out of water, and most efforts to increase short-term water supplies come with great risk to our environment and communities.

To preserve water availability for future generations, we must materially Boost the way we use our existing resources. For example, currently, other communities and countries recycle the majority of their wastewater. Israel, for example, successfully recycles almost 95% of its wastewater. The technology exists to follow in their footsteps, and Valley Water has the budget to make these infrastructure improvements. But we must get to work now.

Water recycling, recapture and re-use is the most proven step forward in our drought conditions. We recognize that diverting and conveying water from elsewhere leads vulnerable and wealthy communities being deprived of water resources they rely on to survive. Tunnels, dams and other means of diversion cost billions of taxpayer dollars, potentially greatly increasing water bills while at the same time offering minimal benefit. They also irreparably harm fragile ecosystems, increasing our drought conditions by contributing to climate change. Better management of existing resources is a proven path forward.

KREMEN: The first part of my vision is to continue to expand funding for water conservation for Palo Alto residences, businesses and nonprofits. The second is being sure we have emergency water supply, which I led our board in obtaining ahead of the drought and ahead of other water districts. The third is to implement net-zero water conservation codes for new construction.

Q: What is your position on developing alternative water sources? What does that look like?

EISENBERG: I strongly favor immediate material investment into transitioning current infrastructure to modern infrastructure that will enable recycling and reuse of the majority of our wastewater.

I also believe that we need to urgently invest in infrastructure that will better enable the recapture of lost water runoff. Regrowth and regeneration of canopy and native plants also are essential elements of that process, as is, of course, vastly improved protection of existing native plants and trees.

Also, desalination has potential promise, but desalination must be done without creating harmful impacts on our natural environment and ecosystems.

KREMEN: I strongly support developing alternative water sources such as water recycling, desalination and conservation. I have voted for funding all of the above-mentioned projects (conservation and water-recycling funding; the wastewater treatment plant for salt removal, etc.) while keeping water rates reasonable. In addition, I negotiated a unique arrangement, which is in no other city in Santa Clara County, for a backup water supply for Palo Alto.

Q: The cost of building a desalination plant in Palo Alto recently rose from $20 million to an estimated $53 million. The district was to pay $16 million and Palo Alto and Mountain View would share the balance of that sum – 25% and 75% respectively. Should the district take on more of the cost? What would you envision to get the project built?

EISENBERG: I believe that the Water District needs to pay for this plant entirely and also pay for all other water treatment facilities and infrastructure. We are in urgent need of upgraded infrastructure to enable water recycling, recapture and reuse. We are running out of water, and water is not something we can make. Our best path forward is to take advantage of existing technologies that have been proven to enable better use of existing resources.

The district needs to pay in full for these projects for a number of reasons. First, infrastructure always by definition benefits the community at large far more than it benefits any specific individual or town. Second, it wastes valuable time and resources to put cities and communities in situations where they are forced to negotiate with each other for financial resources and benefits.

The district has more than ample budget to cover these expenses. Putting in context of the $2.9 billion Pacheco Dam project that my opponent and his allies on the Water District Board continue to champion, the cost of this water treatment is de minimis. Valley Water's budget has been described as $1 billion on the low end, and $10 billion dollars on the high end by sitting board directors. Add those sums to the billions of dollars of federal and state funding that was newly created by the recent Inflation Reduction Act and last year's Infrastructure Act, and it is highly likely that large grants are within reach, especially when earmarked for sustainable green infrastructure projects. Green infrastructure and green jobs are at the center of both our president's and our governor's official water policies, and we are not just able to obtain funding for these improvements, but we are instructed to do this work.

I favor a Green New Deal approach, which creates new local jobs, upgrading infrastructure to enable water recycling, recapture and reuse, and also preserving existing ecosystems and regenerating new growth where ecosystems and trees have been destroyed.

KREMEN: In the past, getting additional funds for the Palo Alto desalination plant has been challenging as the majority of the board is San Jose-focused and north county gets neglected. The good news: I think I have convinced a majority of current board members to support additional funds for Palo Alto. I am working very hard to raise even more additional money for the desalination/salt removal/pollution reduction project, including lobbying the federal and state government for additional funds.

Magic Leap 2 is now commercially available for purchase in the U.S. and select other countries for $3,299. The augmented reality headset is aimed at immersive apps for the enterprise.

Magic Leap 2 is designed for business utility, comfort and sustained use, and is 20% lighter and 50% smaller in volume than Magic Leap 1, which debuted in 2018 for $2,295.

Magic Leap 2 integrates new improvements to address the past barriers that have prevented the widespread adoption of AR technology, including the largest field of view compared to similar, currently available AR devices, and dynamic dimming, which enables more effective use in brightly lit settings (such as outdoors) with greater image solidity.

At the recent Nvidia’s GTC22, Lowe’s showed how it is using Magic Leap 2 headsets to show its staff in its warehouses how to recognize various items in the stacks and other uses. It also fits with Nvidia’s Omniverse tech, which is being used to build digital twins of enterprise facilities.

Lowe’s retail associates are able to view digital content in the store to help reconfigure layouts, provide restocking support, and enable real-time collaboration. Using the technology, the associate can access more detailed information right in front of them, while saving time by not having to climb ladders or track down physical labels.

“You’re not imagining it – talk of an Augmented Reality (AR) future is everywhere these days,” said Magic Leap CEO Peggy Johnson, in a blog post. “For those of us who live and breathe this industry, it’s no surprise. We’ve done a lot of work to get to what we know is a transformational moment in the way humans interact with technology.”

It also includes an open platform that gives enterprises and developers flexibility, cloud autonomy and data privacy.

Magic Leap 2 is available in three editions – Base, Developer Pro, and Enterprise – starting at $3,299. Magic Leap 2 Developer Pro will start at $4,099, while Enterprise will be $4,999.

While it’s expensive, Magic Leap isn’t pushing the product as a consumer device anymore, as it did with its first generation. It is now emphasizing the enterprise and the tech.

Johnson said there are more than 3,000 product and platform innovations in the device, and it has a lot of learning for what works and what doesn’t.

“We understand better than anyone the remaining hurdles that hold back widespread AR adoption, and we’ve worked tirelessly to solve those challenges,” Johnson said. “While it’s energizing to see AR leap into headlines and the surging conversation around courses like the metaverse, it’s time for the utility of the technology to be demonstrated, not just discussed. That’s where my focus has been since joining Magic Leap just over two years ago.”

Despite everything we hear about the metaverse and consumer applications, there is real progress being made in the enterprise, Johnson said.

“In the last several years, we’ve seen AR begin providing utility across industries like healthcare, manufacturing and the public sector, and we’re seeing that interest increase as the technology continues to advance, user experience improves, and more applications are developed,” she said.

It’s for this reason that Johnson focused the company’s efforts on the enterprise, including tailoring the next generation device, Magic Leap 2, specifically for enterprise customers.

Johnson said that PBC Linear, a manufacturing company based in the midwest, turned to AR technology to implement new workforce training, realizing a more than 80% reduction in training time for new hires and a 20% reduction in scrap and rework in the production process.

“Already, we are seeing how Magic Leap 2 is improving hybrid work environments, simplifying new hire training, and revolutionizing the way healthcare professionals learn and better serve their patients. Magic Leap 2 is having a real impact and delivering meaningful value for enterprises,” Johnson said.

While touting the progress, Johnson acknowledged the tech is a work in progress on the road to the metaverse.

“In the many conversations that I’ve had with business leaders, I have heard firsthand how AR is being heralded as the next technological disruption, but the immense promise and list of benefits it has to offer still feels just out of reach,” she said.

Magic Leap 2 is now available to all customers in the United States, Canada, UK, EU (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland), and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Availability in Japan and Singapore is expected before the end of the year.

Widespread availability of the Magic Leap 2 comes after a successful early access Program with companies like Cisco, SentiAR, NeuroSync, Heru, Taqtile, PTC and Brainlab. During this period, Magic Leap continued to refine and Boost the device for training, communication, remote assistance use cases in clinical settings, industrial environments, defense, and retail stores.

Africa is home to 12% of the world’s people, but it accounts for less than 1% of the global air service market.

Part of the reason for Africa’s under-served status, according to a just-published World Bank study, Open Skies for Africa – Implementing the Yamoussoukro Decision, is that many African countries restrict their air services markets to protect the share held by state-owned air carriers.

This practice originated in the early 1960s when many newly-independent African states created national airlines, in part, to assert their status as nations. Now, however, most have recognized that the strict regulatory protection that sustains such carriers, has detrimental effects of air safety records, while also inflating air fares and dampening air traffic growth.

Indeed, African ministers responsible for civil aviation themselves acknowledged this in 1999, when they adopted the Yamoussoukro Decision, named for the Ivorian city in which it was agreed. It commits its 44 signatory countries to deregulate air services, and promote regional air markets open to transnational competition.
It followed up on the Yamoussoukro Declaration of 1988, in which many of the same countries agreed to principles of air services liberalization. In 2000, the Decision was endorsed by head of states and governments at the Organization of African Unity, and became fully binding in 2002.

But implementation has fallen short, says Charles Schlumberger, Lead Air Transport Specialist at the World Bank, and author of Open Skies for Africa.

“A historic opportunity is being missed,” Schlumberger said. “Ten countries have not signed on to or completed proper ratification of this decision, and many others that are signatories have not implemented it. Meantime, most countries in Africa that have abandoned their ailing carriers and opened up to foreign operators now have air services, both passenger and freight, that are more efficient, safer, and with more competitive prices.”

Drawing on statistics gathered by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and other organizations, Schlumberger’s study reports that over the past decade, Africa’s aircraft hull-loss accident rate is more than six times higher than those of Asia and Latin America, and more than 12 times higher than those of Europe and North America.

The study says that prospects for reducing this accident rate would Boost if African states applied bilateral sanctions against airlines that fail to meet safety standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). In fact, Schlumberger said, this is what African air regulators agreed to do when they signed the Yamoussoukro Decision in 1999.

In addition to improvements in quality and pricing of air services, he said, countries that have abandoned national airlines are in a position to redirect state resources thus saved to investments that have more positive impact on economic development. In addition, lower transport costs achieved through enhanced competition reduces a significant trade barrier for African countries, while also improving prospects for increased tourism.

For example, the study notes that 20 percent of Africa’s tourism-related jobs are supported by visitors arriving by air, compared with only four percent in North America. On the basis of studies showing increased air passenger traffic following air services liberalization on other continents, as well similar findings for Africa sub-regions that have liberalized, Schlumberger concludes that liberalization could deliver similar gains for African countries that have yet to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision.

Specifically, the Yamoussoukro Decision calls for, among others:

• Full liberalization of intra-African air transport services in terms of access, capacity, frequency, and tariffs
• Free exercise of first, second, third, fourth and fifth freedom rights for passenger and freight air services by eligible airlines (These rights, granted by most international air service agreements, enable, among others, non-national carriers to land in a state and take on traffic coming from or destined for a third state.)
• Liberalized tariffs and fair competition
• Compliance with established ICAO safety standards and recommended practices

Experience with liberalized air services elsewhere has also shown that they result in increased trade, both regional and intercontinental. Competitive air carriers with more frequent flights and lower fares can open the door to trade in perishables and high-tech manufactures, the study suggests.

“Reliable, safe and competitively priced air services are essential to better integrating Africa with the global economy,” said Jamal Saghir, World Bank Director for Sustainable Development in Africa. "African air transport leaders recognized this with the Yamoussoukro Decision and now this study underlines the need for action on those commitments.”

Open Skies for Africa’s recommendation that African states to implement the Yamoussoukro Decision applies to all its signatories, but especially mentions those that have not signed or properly ratified it, namely Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Madagascar, Mauritania, Morocco, Somalia, South Africa, and Swaziland.

• Key courses at the Open RAN Summit @ Fyuz 2022 brought by the O-RAN ALLIANCE

• O-RAN Global PlugFest Fall 2022 initiated at 6 venues across Asia, Europe and North America

• 36 new demos of O-RAN technology at the O-RAN Virtual Exhibition

BONN, Germany, September 26, 2022--(BUSINESS WIRE)--O-RAN ALLIANCE:

Key courses at the Open RAN Summit @ Fyuz 2022 brought by the O-RAN ALLIANCE

The Open RAN Summit @ Fyuz, powered by O-RAN ALLIANCE and Telecom Infra Project, will take place in Madrid on October 25-26, 2022. As a main partner of the event, O-RAN ALLIANCE brings key courses to the agenda and invites utmost erudite speakers.

Join the event to get the latest news and views on:

• O-RAN ALLIANCE and TIP cooperation

• Established operators worldwide showcasing how they are overcoming Open RAN challenges and moving forward with deployments

• Open RAN cloudification options and realities

• Achievements and challenges on the open RAN supply side, along with insights into value chain evolution

• Rich variety of Open RAN deployment paths tailored to meet diverse operator’s needs

• How the testing and integration work is critical to making Open RAN a success

• What’s behind the hype of the RAN Intelligent Controllers and how an empowered ecosystem delivers customized operator value

• And many more in a wide range of breakout sessions

The Open RAN Summit @ Fyuz is being prepared in an attractive way combining focused sessions with food experience. Register and learn more at www.fyuz.events.

O-RAN Global PlugFest Fall 2022 initiated at 6 venues across Asia, Europe and North America

O-RAN ALLIANCE global PlugFests represent a major platform enabling efficient progress of the O-RAN ecosystem through well-organized testing and integration.

O-RAN Global PlugFest Fall 2022, second O-RAN PlugFest this year, has been initiated at 6 venues. Number of registrations currently exceeds 80 companies or institutions, of which many are ready to participate at more than one venue.

O-RAN Global PlugFest Fall 2022 is scheduled to conclude in December this year. Upon then, O-RAN plans to add its results, including the final list of participants, to the O-RAN PlugFest Virtual Showcase.

Story continues

O-RAN Global PlugFest Fall 2022 comprises:

In Asia:

• PlugFest in Japan, hosted by KDDI, NTT DOCOMO, Rakuten Mobile, SoftBank, YRP and YRPC currently counts 14 registered participants including: Anritsu, Calnex Solutions, ComWorth, DZS, HCL Technologies, IP Infusion, ITRI, Keysight Technologies, LITEON, MiTAC Computing Technology, NEC, SageRAN Technology, VIAVI Solutions and Wind River.

• PlugFest in South Korea hosted by LG Uplus currently counts 7 registered participants including: Ciena, DELL Technologies, ETRI, Innowireless, Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies and Viettel High Technology Industries.

• PlugFest in South Korea hosted by SK Telecom currently counts 10 registered participants including: ETRI, Intel, HFR Networks, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Keysight Technologies and Wind River.

In Europe:

• Joint European O-RAN and TIP PlugFest, hosted by Deutsche Telekom, EANTC, EURECOM, Orange, TIM, Vodafone and BT, currently counts 36 registered participants including: Aarna Networks, Acceleran, ADVA Optical Networking, AMD, Analog Devices, Anritsu, Azcom Technology, Calnex Solutions, Capgemini Engineering, Dell Technologies, DZS, Fujitsu, HCL Technologies, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IP Infusion, ITRI, Juniper Networks, Keysight Technologies, LITEON, Mavenir, MICAS, Microamp Solutions, NEC, Net AI, Nokia, Open Valley, Precision Optical Transceivers, Red Hat, Rimedo Labs, Rohde & Schwarz, SIAE MICROELETTRONICA, SOLiD, VIAVI Solutions, VoerEir, Wind River, VMware and Xena Networks.

In North America:

• PlugFest in North America, hosted by CableLabs, currently counts 6 registered participants including: Capgemini, Fujitsu, Radisys, Rohde & Schwarz, Sunwave and VIAVI Solutions.

• PocFest in North America, hosted by UNH-IOL, currently counts 15 registered participants including: Analog Devices, Anritsu, DZS, Fujitsu, Intel, IP Infusion, Keysight Technologies, LitePoint, NEC, Rohde & Schwarz, SOLiD, VIAVI Solutions, Telecom Engineering Centre, Vodafone and Wind River.

36 new demos of O-RAN technology at the O-RAN Virtual Exhibition

O-RAN ALLIANCE member companies have been progressing with their O-RAN based implementations.

One demonstration will be presented on-site at MWC Las Vegas:

• VIAVI Solutions, Rohde & Schwarz and AMD jointly demonstrate O-RAN Open Fronthaul (OFH) conformance and 3GPP pre-conformance validation of AMD’s reference design O-RU. The AMD O-RU is validated by VIAVI automated TM500 O-RU Tester with R&S SMW200A vector signal generator, R&S FSVA3000 spectrum analyzer and the R&S VSE signal analysis software. The demonstration highlights a progressive test plan including functional, interoperability, conformance and performance testing, with a single point of control for the entire testbed. Visit the demo at AMD, booth W1.720.

More new demonstrations will soon be available at the O-RAN Virtual Exhibition.

Newly added Intelligent RAN control demonstrations include:

• AirHop and VMware demonstrate how automation and programmability efficiently detect and remediate PCI collisions/confusions to optimize RAN performance. The proposal is a solution to current RAN frequency planning, conflict mitigation and optimization methods which are costly and time-consuming, slowing deployment of new services and decreasing performance of existing ones.

• Cellwize and VMware demonstrate how to bring programmability to any type of RAN deployment, including purpose-built RANs. As an example, we demonstrate how Cellwize’s rApp onboarded on VMware Centralized RIC optimizes EN-DC anchoring to maximize spectral usage in purpose-built RANs; leading to monetizable gains in performance.

• Cohere and VMware demonstrate how using RAN programmability, operators can double mobile bandwidth without any changes to antennas, radio or devices. Using Cohere’s Spectrum Multiplier xApp powered by VMware Distributed RIC, now Services Providers can activate broadband in rural areas while avoiding costly changes in handsets or infrastructure.

• Ericsson demonstrates how CSPs can enhance customer experience with SMO and rApps. Ericsson FLM (Frequency Layer Manager) rApp running on the EIAP (Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform) manages the complexity of traffic load distribution in 4G/5G RAN deployments. It automatically configures the network in order to provide the best customer experience while reducing OpEx and optimizing spectral usage.

• Groundhog demonstrates O-CLOUD and Intelligent RAN control using CovMo™, a cloud-native geo-location solution that detects and mitigate a multitude of challenges currently faced by MNOs including RAN-optimization, VIP-care, and next-generation network rollout strategies. Combining superior accuracy and geo-KPIs, CovMo™ intelligently provides critical insights on the QoS experienced by the subscribers.

• Inventec and NYCU showcase how to integrate the O-RAN SMO with the factory and academic fields as a first step to realizing digital twins with a painless upgrade of a 5G vertical ecosystem from a system integration perspective.

• NYCU demonstrates an academic 5G O-RAN field and SMO/xAPP validation platform in Taiwan. It is built for enhancement to AI algorithms for 5G O-RAN Private Networks, develop B5G technology, training, use case, B5G/6G Research, implementation of the PoC application and third party verification based on ISO 17025 standard.

• Polte and VMware demonstrate how to leverage RAN programmability to deliver precise sub-meter UE positioning. Using cellular as prime technology (as opposed to GPS or Wi-Fi), Polte’s xApp powered by VMware’s Near-Real-time RIC offers global location indoors/outdoors, while lowering cost and extending battery life of the IoT asset tracker.

• VIAVI demonstrates how multiple xApps can work together to Boost the user experience of UEs (standing, walking, and driving) after an anomaly in the radio environment has negatively affected their data throughput.

• VMware and Intel demonstrate how simple it is for xApp partners to use Intel FlexRAN E2SM-KPM and E2SM-RC libraries integrated in VMware Distributed RIC’s code to monitor, control and optimize the performance of a set of UEs distributed in a sector.

Newly added Open RAN demonstrations include:

• Anritsu demonstrates O-RAN open fronthaul conformance test. A O-RU transmitters and receivers characteristics are tested by Anritsu signal analyzer and generator. This demonstration highlights how to perform certainly and efficiently specified tests and other realistic test scenarios to accelerate installation and scaling of Open RAN.

• ArrayComm showcases its 5G Distributed Small Cell, a flexible 5G coverage solution with low power consumption. It includes white box BBU, Fronthaul Gateway, and O-RU. The BBU supports 2 FHGW connections, each FHGW supports maximum 12 O-RU connections. The 5G SA E2E demo shows the high performance and stability testing with measured large uplink throughputs, with networking of BBU, FHGW and O-RU as 1:2:2.

• ArrayComm demonstrates its 5G Distributed Small Cell E2E capability based on a Marvell platform white box base station. O-RAN Option7.2x eCPRI Fronthaul interface and SCF FAPI are used by the white box base station which can be widely used in the capacity coverage improvement scenarios, and can be easily deployed as cloud RAN.

• Azcom Technology showcases an O-RAN based Multi-RAT 5G RU reference design, the AZR-5000 RU. The reference can also be utilized for initial 5G network field trials or integration purposes.

• CIG, Actiontec and Keysight Technologies participated in the O-RAN ALLIANCE PlugFest to demonstrate Open Fronthaul functionality between CIG O-RU and Keysight O-DU Emulator.

• DeepSig demonstrates its OmniPHY-5G Neural Receiver Software improving the 5G uplink capacity and throughput while improving the energy efficiency of the O-RAN O-DU. This demonstration uses a commercial UE over-the-air and a RIC xApp to provide online training to Boost key air interface KPIs and performance.

• Infosys demonstrates the architecture of its O-RAN solution for Private 5G, integration, end-to-end testing with Keysight’s emulated UE, and onboarding of Industry 4.0 use cases for enterprises.

• IS-Wireless showcases a Multi MNO scenario supported in the form of a Neutral Host. The end-to-end Open RAN network is deployable on any cloud in an automated manner as containers and supports both Open Fronthaul Split 7.2x and 3GPP split 2.

• GDCNi demonstrates its O-RAN based disaggregated solution and deployment models, achieving interoperability with multiple vendors using O-RAN Open Interfaces. GDCNi’s ecosystem includes a variety of flexible features and deployment options (RU, DU, RU+DU, CU+RU+DU, and CU+DU+RU+5GC) enabling an E2E product solution to meet the different demands of customers.

• Keysight Technologies and Cisco demonstrate O-RAN Xhaul transport network test solution consisting of Open RAN distributed units (O-DU) and Open RAN radio units (O-RU) emulation (IxNetwork / Novus) to validate SRv6 uSID-based transport network elements' performance, benchmarking latency characteristics of fronthaul traffic under real-world conditions specified by the O-RAN WG9: Open X-haul Transport Work Group. Which enables 5G success with robust Xhaul Transport Infrastructure.

• Keysight Technologies showcases 5G deployment readiness testing with its Network Emulator 3. O-RAN deployments, consisting of Open RAN distributed units (O-DU) and Open RAN radio units (O-RU), are required to conform to stringent latency, delay variation and timing constraints. Keysight’s Network Emulator 3 reproduces real-world network behavior, is used to test O-RAN conformance and interoperability, and validates application stability, SLA and performance under sub-optimal network conditions.

• Keysight Technologies showcases IxVerify 5G O-RAN, a pre-silicon testing solution in emulation focused on O-RU system-on-chip (SoC) designs. The ability to send O-RAN compliant testing stimulus into the emulated O-RU design ensures robust testing of the beamforming, precoding, decompression and iFFT blocks matching post-deployment real-life scenarios.

• Keysight Technologies and the University of Utah integrated Keysight’s RICtest O-RAN Near-Real-Time RIC test software into Utah’s POWDER "lab as a service" automation framework. This integration provides a powerful cloud-native platform for O-RAN testing that supports automatic, on-demand, workflow-driven test and validation of O-RAN Near-Real-Time RICs and xApps.

• Lenovo presents realistic testbed environment for project design and experimentations with support for Machine Learning based solutions. This emulation platform provides KPIs to the Near-RT RIC using Mininet-WiFi emulator, following O-RAN architecture and specifications.

• LIONS showcases their O-RU interworking with a third-party RAN (O-DU/O-CU) using the Open Fronthaul conformance and performance specifications. Five use cases are demonstrated. Two cases are for O-RU/Open Fronthaul covering CUS-Plane. The other three cases are for O-RAN end-to-end covering performance at different cell locations, connecting to commercial 5G core network, and under mobility of UE.

• Picocom demonstrates O-RAN split 7.2 architecture interoperability milestone with Picocom’s PC802 SoC, boards and PHY software, together with Radisys’ Connect RAN 5G stack software. Picocom's silicon features both the O-DU and O-RU, connecting over the O-RAN Open Fronthaul Interface in this end-to-end demo.

• Reign, a new HTC subsidiary, demonstrates Open RAN Stack and Open Interface using portable 5G private network solution (REIGN CORE) powered several experiences at Mobile World Congress, including a scaled-down example of driving cars remotely, AI-based 5G security camera system, and cloud VR streaming to HTC VIVE Focus 3 simultaneously on the same private 5G network. Second part is validation of result of O-RAN E2E Test Specification (O-RAN.TIFG.E2E-Test) using VIAVI testing equipment.

• SageRAN demonstrates a complete O-RAN white box small cell solution that is based on an x86 platform with an FPGA Accelerator card that showcases a stand-alone end-to-end use case using white box hardware for an indoor cell, which supports MIMO and all 4T4R.

• VIAVI Solutions demonstrates O-RAN Open Fronthaul performance testing of a real O-RU, which is complementary to conformance testing. A customer O-RU is validated over the 3GPP Physical Layer using the VIAVI TM500 O-RU Tester in conjunction with the TMLite UE emulation to demonstrate that the best performance can be obtained from the O-RU. This significantly increases the success rate of integration with a real O-DU and End-to-End testing at later stages.

• Viettel showcases its latest O-RAN demo towards the future of 5G called Massive MIMO 32T32R. This demo tests the 5G commercial UE OTA with Viettel 5G NSA gNodeB, which runs in Intel X86 COTS Server integrated with Viettel Outdoor Macro O-RU 32T32R, all built on O-RAN Category B architecture. UE speed test give DL: 1066 Mbps (4 Layer) and UL: 60.8 Mbps (1 Layer).

• Viettel showcases an end-to-end Macro 8T8R system based on O-RAN Open Fronthaul. This integrated system is Verified using a commercial UE/sim card, Viettel’s public network, UE Emulator from VIAVI, support SU-MIMO 4T4R up to 1.7Gbps for downlink and 150Mbps for uplink.

• Viettel showcases a 5G commercial UE with Viettel 5G NSA gNodeB, which is running Viettel’s CU/DU software on the same Intel x86 server and integrated with Viettel’s Mirco O-RU, all built on the O-RAN IP/UDP architecture. The O-DU and O-RU are connected through a transport network. This is the first step on the way to Viettel’s C-RAN solution.

• Wind River showcases a demonstration of CNF orchestration into a distributed cloud by the SMO over the O-RAN O2 interface. The Wind River Studio Conductor acting as an SMO communicates with the Wind River Studio Cloud Platform which is distributed cloud via O-RAN O2 interfaces.

• Wiwynn teams up with Intel and WNC to bring the benefit of 5G to AOI and AMR applications and solve the factory automation pain point. Wiwynn’s O-RAN based 5G SA Sub-6 O-DU and O-CU solution running on Wiwynn EP100 fulfills the requirements of O-DU/O-CU and reduces the setup efforts.

• WNC demonstrates an O-RAN end-to-end system, with O-CU/O-DU running on a Wiwynn x86 server, supporting NG Backhaul, F1 Midhaul and 10GbE eCPRI Fronthaul. The O-RU is a Sub-6 indoor picocell (4T4R with 24dBm output power per channel). The same system passed the third O-RAN PlugFest interoperability test and is currently deployed in a 5G private network belonging to a large telecom operator in Taiwan.

About O-RAN ALLIANCE

The O-RAN ALLIANCE is a world-wide community of more than 320 mobile operators, vendors, and research & academic institutions operating in the Radio Access Network (RAN) industry. As the RAN is an essential part of any mobile network, the O-RAN ALLIANCE’s mission is to re-shape the industry towards more intelligent, open, virtualized and fully interoperable mobile networks. The new O-RAN specifications enable a more competitive and vibrant RAN supplier ecosystem with faster innovation to Boost user experience. O-RAN based mobile networks at the same time Boost the efficiency of RAN deployments as well as operations by the mobile operators. To achieve this, the O-RAN ALLIANCE publishes new RAN specifications, releases open software for the RAN, and supports its members in integration and testing of their implementations.

For more information, please visit www.o-ran.org.

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Contacts

O-RAN ALLIANCE PR Contact
Zbynek Dalecky
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O-RAN ALLIANCE e.V.
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