Tuesday, December 20, 2022
YRP R&D Promotion Committee
NTT DOCOMO, INC.
KDDI CORPORATIONSoftBank Corp.
Rakuten Mobile, Inc.

Japan OTIC opens in Yokosuka City as a testing and certification centerfor O-RAN solutions- The world's first center jointly hosted by multiple mobile network operators NTT DOCOMO, KDDI, SoftBank and Rakuten Mobile On December 20, 2022 (Tuesday), YRP R&D Promotion Committee, NTT
DOCOMO, INC., KDDI CORPORATION, SoftBank Corp. and Rakuten Mobile, Inc.
established Japan OTIC at Yokosuka Research Park (Yokosuka City, KanagawaPrefecture) for testing and certification based on the international standards
ensuring interoperability of O-RAN solutions stipulated by the O-RAN ALLIANCE.
OTICs were established in Europe, North America and Asia by a single host. JapanOTIC is the world's first OTIC jointly established and operated by multiple mobilenetwork operators.
*Research by the YRP R&D Promotion Committee. (As of December 20, 2022)

Outline of Japan OTICAs global mobile communications enter the 5G era, there is a demand for more open,
more reliable, and safer network infrastructure (Note 1).
An international organization established in 2018 by NTT DOCOMO and other mobile
network operators around the world with the aim of enhancing the functionality of basestations by flexibly combining equipment from multiple manufacturers, the O-RAN
ALLIANCE is conducting activities such as establishing specifications for interoperable
interfaces for radio access networks (Note 2).
OTIC (Open Testing & Integration Centres) is an organization that tests and certifies
various equipment based on the specifications published by the O-RAN ALLIANCE (ORAN specifications). Japan OTIC was established in Japan, following on fromestablishment of OTICs in Europe, North America and Asia (Note 3).
Japan OTIC is established and operated jointly by the YRP R&D Promotion Committee
as the main representative and the four mobile network operators. This is the world’s
first OTIC jointly established and operated by multiple mobile network operators in asingle country, and the domestic operators are committed to working together topromote openness in testing and verification (Note 4 and Note 5).
Utilizing the experience of the mobile network operators, Japan OTIC provides anindependent environment based on O-RAN requirements to test and certify basestation equipment (Note 6 and Note 7).
Japan OTIC's activities will advance the open, revitalized and diversified supply chainof Japan's information and telecommunications industry and its overseas deployment,
thereby contributing to the realization of a more open, more reliable, and more secure
5G mobile communication society in Japan and globally (Note 8).
Note 1 Dissemination of 5G mobile communication
The use of 5G mobile communications is expected to expand from person-to-person
communication across borders to transportation, homes, shopping, offices andfactories, as well as natural environments and cities. For this reason, there is a needfor more open and more reliable networks and the infrastructure that support them,including more base stations.
Mobile communication
5G base stations

NaturalHomes

environments
Transportation
Shopping

Cities

Offices

Factories

Note 2 O-RAN ALLIANCEThe O-RAN ALLIANCE was established in 2018 in Bonn, Germany, with the aim ofbuilding next-generation open and advanced wireless access networks including 5G.
AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, NTT DOCOMO and Orange are the five founding
members of the O-RAN ALLIANCE. At present, 32* mobile network operators and 304*vendors and others around the world participate and contribute to developinteroperable specifications for the open, virtualized, and intelligent radio accessnetworks.
*Published on the O-RAN ALLIANCE website (as of December 20, 2022)

WEB site
https://www.o-ran.org

Note 3 OTIC (Open Testing & Integration Centres) in the world
OTIC in the world
Europe・European OTIC in Berlin（Deutsche Telekom AG）
・European OTIC in Torino（Telecom Italia S.p.A.）・European OTIC in Madrid（Telefonica S.A.）・European OTIC in Paris（Orange SA）
North America
・Kyrio O-RAN Test and Integration Lab（Cable Labs）
Asia・Auray OTIC and Security Lab（Auray Technology Corp.）
・Asia & Pacific OTIC in PRC（ZhongGuanCun Academy of Mobile Communication
Innovation）
Note 4 Yokosuka Research Park (YRP) and YRP R&D Promotion Committee
Japan OTIC in Japan was established at Yokosuka Research Park (YRP) with the YRP
R&D Promotion Committee as its representative director.
Yokosuka Research Park (YRP) is a research and development area in the field ofcommunications that was established in October 1997 in Yokosuka City, Kanagawa
Prefecture, with a total area of approximately 58.8 hectares. The area is home to manyleading research institutes in the field of information and communications in Japan andoverseas, including Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, theNational Institute of Information and Communications Technology, as a place fordemonstration experiments of next-generation communication technologies that use
radio waves, taking advantage of the topography, which minimizes the risk ofexperimental radio waves leaking out of the area.
The YRP R&D Promotion Committee, which became ageneral incorporated association in December 2020,
promotes cooperation and joint research among informationand communications-related companies and research institutes concentrated in theYokosuka Research Park (YRP), and it is responsible for forming a base for researchand development, leading comprehensive policies, and developing infrastructure in thefield of information and communications.
Note 5 Establishment and management organization of Japan OTIC
Japan OTIC is jointly established and operated by the YRP R&D Promotion
Committee as the main representative of the following four mobile network operators.
Representative Member: YRP R&D Promotion Committee
Members: NTT DOCOMO, INC.
KDDI CORPORATIONSoftBank Corp.
Rakuten Mobile, Inc.
Note 6 Activities of Japan OTIC
Japan OTIC provides an independent and open interconnectivity verification
environment to test and certify hardware including base station equipment based onthe O-RAN specifications. This will contribute to the dissemination of O-RAN
specifications and the promotion of openness in testing and verification.
Activities of Japan OTIC
・Independent and open position
・Provision of an interconnectivity verification environment based on O-RAN
specifications
・Testing hardware equipment such as base stations
Conformance test
Interoperability test
End-to-End test
・Certification of compliance with O-RAN specifications
・Support for testing and certification・Dissemination of O-RAN specifications and promotion of openness
Laboratories and Equipment

Note 7 Effects of certification based on international standards
Before the establishment of international interoperable standards, base stationequipment typically had a manufacturer-specific internal structure, and it was common
to introduce a combination of equipment determined by a single manufacturer.
Through interoperable interface specifications and certification to connect equipmentfrom different manufacturers, it has become possible to widely introduce equipmentfrom multiple manufacturers into base stations.
Introduction of general base station equipment
before the establishment of international standards
Base station

Radio Unit

Telecommunication company building

Distributed Unit

Central Unit

Introduction of a determined combination of units froma single manufacturer
Introduction of base station equipment certified basedon international standards
Base station

Company A RU

Telecommunication company building

Company B DU

Company C CU

Equipment from different manufacturers can be widely
introduced

Note 8 Expectation of Japan OTIC
Mobilecommunication
services

Equipment
manufacturers

Opportunities for market entry

Innovative features/Reduced
time-to-market/Reduced costMobileCommunications
field

Supply-chain diversity/overseas deployment
Japanese society/Internationalcommunity

Contributing to the realization of a more open, more reliable and moresecure 5G mobile communication society(Notes)*The name of Japan OTIC and its logo are trademarks or registered trademarks.
*The names of O-RAN ALLIANCE, O-RAN and their logo are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of O-RAN ALLIANCE e.V.
*The name of YRP R&D Promotion Committee and its logo are trademarks orregistered trademarks.
*Other product names and service names in this press release are generally
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
* In this press release, trademark indications such as ™ and ® may be omitted in thedescription of the trademarks of each company.