The project aims to fast-track research and development in the realm of next-generation Open Radio Access Network (Open RAN) infrastructure.
Spearheaded by the O-RAN Alliance's Next Generation Research Group (nGRG), the initiative focused on enabling global 6G research and laying the groundwork for scalable, open-source RAN solutions.
The US$200,000 funding, awarded to Northeastern University, supported the evolution of its Colosseum testbed into a sophisticated, fully automated O-RAN Digital Twin (O-DT) platform.
This new platform allows researchers to deploy Open RAN-based networks—including base stations, user devices, and Radio Intelligent Controllers (RICs)—within minutes. It features built-in capabilities for data collection, AI model training, and validation pipelines for xApps, rApps, and emerging dApps, all critical for real-time network optimisation and control.
“The O-RAN Alliance seed funding supported the efforts to advance Colosseum into a state-of-the-art platform that effectively enables the research community to develop innovations for the RAN,” said Michele Polese, research assistant professor at Northeastern University and PI of the O-RAN O-DT project.
“This initiative has sparked the creation of new solutions to tackle the next fundamental challenge toward fully realising the Open RAN vision.”
Ravi Sinha, VP of technology and solution development at Reliance Jio and co-chair of nGRG, echoed the sentiment: “It is exciting to see the outcomes of the O-RAN Alliance seed funding initiative delivering tangible value to RAN researchers. These research outcomes form basis for future specification development within the O-RAN Alliance.”
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