Digital Catapult claims milestone in UK advanced connectivity landscape

Digital Catapult has announced its accreditation as the only European open testing and integration centre (OTIC) in the UK awarded by the O-RAN Alliance of mobile operators, suppliers, and research and academic institutions.

OTICs are set up to provide a collaborative, open environment to support the growth of the Open RAN ecosystem by enabling rigorous testing, validation and integration of multi-supplier services, ensuring interoperability and fostering industry collaboration in line with O-RAN Alliance specifications. Digital Catapult’s accreditation makes it the fifth centre in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region to be awarded OTIC accreditation, joining existing centres in Germany, France, Spain and Italy.  

With its status, and under its aim to advance the development and deployment of open and future networks, Digital Catapult says it will be able to issue O-RAN certificates for conformance testing, and badges for interoperability and end-to-end testing for Open RAN products and services, joining a global network of 20 other qualified OTICs.

This accreditation also allows Digital Catapult to support a range of Open RAN providers by helping validate their services ahead of deployment, enabling many to scale successfully and practically apply O-RAN innovation across different industries. 

Digital Catapult will serve as both a centre of technological and innovation consultancy, and a convener of UK capabilities, actively sharing expertise through participation in O-RAN Alliance events, hosting demonstrations and trialling new offerings to accelerate the adoption of O-RAN specifications while championing openness, collaboration and innovation.

This will build on Digital Catapult’s work with its innovation and accelerator programmes, such as SmartRAN Open Network Interoperability Centre Labs (Sonic Labs), which was recently highlighted in the UK government’s industrial strategy for advancing R&D in advanced connectivity technologies, as part of its Open Networks programme.

In addition to enabling trust between suppliers and mobile network operators (MNOs), the institution also regards certification and badging as reducing the efforts on the MNO side to perform additional and thorough on-site testing. Equipped with an Open RAN testbed, advanced test and measurement capabilities, and a team of technical experts, Digital Catapult assured that its OTIC accreditation will enable it to further drive the development and adoption of data-driven, open future networks across the UK.

Digital Catapult chief technology officer Joe Butler said: “Achieving OTIC status marks a significant step forward in our commitment to advance the development and deployment of open future networks in the UK. By enabling real-world validation through our world-class facilities and expertise, we are shaping the future of advanced connectivity and empowering vendors to thrive in a rapidly evolving market.”

O-RAN Alliance chief operating officer Maja Graetz added: “We are pleased to welcome Digital Catapult to the global network of Open Testing and Integration Centres. OTICs play an important role in advancing the market for open and intelligent network solutions. Together, we are driving the O-RAN Certification and Badging Program – building trust in O-RAN-based products and accelerating their adoption in large-scale deployments.”