Telecom Italia (TIM) has announced the launch of Italy’s first dedicated laboratory for the testing of Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) equipment and services. The new TIM European OTIC (Open Test and Integration Centre) Lab has been approved by the O-RAN Alliance and will be based at TIM’s innovation laboratories in Turin. It will operate in synergy with equipment providers, startups and system integrators to test new solutions and accelerate the deployment of Open RAN technology for future 5G, cloud and edge computing networks across Europe.
TIM said the lab offers a collaborative, open, impartial and qualified working environment and physical space to support the wide adoption of O-RAN specifications. The company intends to develop implementations and solutions by testing and verifying the compliance of RAN equipment (antennas, radio base stations) from individual or different suppliers with the specifications of O-RAN interfaces and by providing technical results to the community on the experiences gained during testing.
The launch comes after TIM signed a Memorandum of Understanding in February with some of Europe’s main operators to support the development and implementation of Open RAN as the technology of choice for mobile networks across the continent. In April it became the first operator in Italy and one of the first in Europe to begin deploying Open RAN infrastructure on a live network in the city of Faenza in Emilia-Romagna.
