2023 5G Challenge Update: All Nine Contestant Subsystems Pass Stage Two Wrap-around Emulation Testing

The 2023 5G Challenge is offering a $7 million prize pool for participants who successfully integrate their radio access network (RAN) subsystems with multiple other RAN participant subsystems and outperform their peers. Teams have progressed in testing since starting the challenge in late March. After the first nine weeks of host lab testing, the initial nine contestants have passed Stage Two wrap-around emulation testing. The following RU contestants passed Stage Two testing:

• Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. in partnership with AT&T;
• GXC;
• LIONS Technology;
• NewEdge, Inc.;
• QCT/Benetel;

Stage Two CU+DU testing considered interface conformance and functionality of the open fronthaul as well as the  NG and Xn interface standards, which are used to support various RAN functions and operations in a 5G network.  The following CU+DU contestants passed Stage Two testing:

• Capgemini Engineering;
• GXC;
• Mavenir Systems, Inc.;
• Radisys Corporation;

During the next stage of the 5G Challenge, contestant pairs will proceed to end-to-end (E2E) integration testing, where they will work to demonstrate RU and CU+DU interoperability as paired contestants.