Viavi Solutions Inc. (VIAVI) announced that Rakuten Symphony has chosen the VIAVI TM500 Network Tester to validate performance of its solutions from the lab to the field. The principal objective of this testbed is to maximize resolution of any issues in the lab in order to accelerate deployment at scale, and it has been designed to simulate a citywide network. Open RAN has become more widely accepted and implemented around the globe, with almost 100 service providers and vendors participating in the most recent O-RAN Global PlugFest.

As its technology moves from the lab into the field, Rakuten Symphony is seeking partners with expertise in that transition, including VIAVI for network test and measurement. VIAVI is supporting Rakuten Symphony with instrumentation strengthened with decades of experience supporting the world's leading service providers and network equipment manufacturers (NEMs) in the lab and the field. With over 85% of NEMs using TM500 for gNodeB (gNB) development, the company's solutions offer unmatched scalability, stability, performance and fidelity to 3GPP specifications as implemented in live networks.

Key features include: Testing high numbers of 5G gNB carriers at system level; Testing high order MIMO and Carrier Aggregation features; Complex mobility, handover and I-RAT functionality between 4G and 5G; Testing thousands of UEs over multiple carriers; Testing Public Warning System (PWS) and link adaptation features.