RUConnect™

ECSite, Inc., a trailblazer in cutting-edge telecommunications software, is thrilled to unveil an innovative solution that will redefine the approach to deployment, management, and maintaining O-RAN Radio Units (RUs). This specialized software focuses on the O-RAN RU over the M-Plane (Management Plane), facilitating not only radio health assessments but also software upgrades, alarm monitoring, and installation validation.

In the world of O-RAN, network providers deploy networks, positioning the RU at the cell site and the Distributed Unit (DU) either centrally or cloud-hosted. The fiber link between the RU and the DU, known as the ‘fronthaul’ or ‘transport’ network, may sometimes be unavailable or insufficient when RUs are set up at the cell site. This prevents the technicians from validating RU functionality on-site, leading to potential delays in network commissioning and repeated site visits, adversely affecting scalability, growth, cycle time, and revenue for operators.

The demand for a field solution that empowers installers to validate O-RAN-based RUs before departure from the job site—without waiting for data transport to be accessible—is thus evident.

ECSite is broadening its range of field services software to tackle this issue, thereby enhancing the speed of 5G infrastructure installation and testing and decreasing costs. Use of ECSite’s RUConnect™ software to oversee and observe field installations of O-RUs via M-Plane will enable on-site personnel to validate installations prior to departure, removing the need for time-consuming and costly return trips. This represents a substantial efficiency improvement from conventional methods, where validation could only be done after fronthaul availability and DU activation, sometimes a months-long process, post-installation.