# A Survey on Open Radio Access Networks: Challenges, Research Directions, and Open Source Approaches
## 4 Projects, Activities, and Standards Related to Open RAN
### Projects and Activities  
The first project that we will explain is the O-RAN Alliance. This community name is shortened to O-RAN. Because the term is tightly related is Open RAN, many people assumed that O-RAN, like ORAN, is also a shorter version of Open RAN. In addition, those two terms are used by industries interchangeably. There are also many journals that used these two terms at the same time, and with the same meaning. That is not the case. To make it clear, O-RAN is the short form of O-RAN Alliance, a name of a software community [16]. O-RAN Alliance is a community that has tried to standardize and detail the Open RAN specifications so they can be implemented in real life [37]. O-RAN Alliance was founded in February 2018 [38]. To form O-RAN Alliance, five big MNOs at that time gathered, which were AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and NTT Docomo. The main purpose of making O-RAN Alliance is to promote an open and intelligent RAN. This alliance is a combined version of xRAN Forum and C-RAN Alliance [16; 38]. All these communities were involved in deploying open interfaces, big data intelligent control, and virtualization in RAN. These communities had also recognized the need to make an open network. After these communities were merged into O-RAN Alliance, these communities had become official members of O-RAN Alliance, but they still kept their original purposes to deploy a more reliable and faster network. The first O-RAN Alliance board meeting was held in June 2018, and the first work group (WG) meeting in September 2019 [38]. The O-RAN Alliance has its own core principles. Basically, there are two core principles of O-RAN Alliance. These core principles are openness and intelligence [2; 39]. To achieve these two high-level core principles, O-RAN Alliance has given some reference designs about how the architecture of the Open RAN should be [38]. These reference designs from the O-RAN Alliance are called O-RAN vision, which consists of standardization design, virtualization design, and white box design [39; 40]. To be able to achieve the three visions, the O-RAN Alliance divides itself into smaller groups. There are two kinds of groups in the O-RAN Alliance. The first groups are the groups divided based on each work description, called WGs. There are ten WGs, and these ten WGs' objectives and chairpersons can be seen in Figure 5. The second groups are groups divided, not based on each work description, but based on their scopes or their focuses. We call these second groups focus groups (FGs). There are six FGs [37]:  
1. Standard Development Focus Group (SDFG): SDFG is responsible to make the standardization of O-RAN Alliance and to make the main interface to other Standard Development Organizations (SDOs) that will be relevant for the alliance's work. SDFG also coordinates incoming and outgoing liaison statements. 2. Test and Integration Focus Group (TIFG): TIFG's task is to define O-RAN Alliance's overall approach for doing tests and integration, including coordination and specifications tests for WGs. 3. Open Source Focus Group (OSFG): OSFG is responsible for dealing with open source-related issues for O-RAN Alliance. OSFG is the parents of OSC, which will be explained briefly. 4. Industry Engagement Focus Group (IEFG): IEFG is responsible for promoting, accelerating the adoption and innovation of O-RAN-based technology in industry and O-RAN Ecosystem engagement. 5. next Generation Research Group (nGRG): nGRG is responsible for researching open and intelligent RAN principles in the 6G system and beyond. 6. Sustainability Focus Group (SuFG): SuFG is responsible for creating energy-efficient and environmentally friendly mobile networks. To maintain the healthy relationships among WGs and FGs, the O-RAN Alliance formed a special committee, whose position is above all of these WGs and FGs. This committee is called the O-RAN Technical Steering Committee (TSC).