Rimedo Labs Blog

This blog post discusses in detail two options for notification of the TS-xApp on the ES actions from the O-RAN specifications perspective. The first option is to utilize the A1 interface to send policies with a “FORBID” clause for cells that will be switched off, to indicate TS-xApp that users should be removed from this cell. The second approach is to utilize the E2SM-CCC, where the TS-xApp listens to the changes in O-CES Management Function.

Vehicular communication presents a complex set of challenges within the realm of 5G and future networks, primarily due to its ever-changing temporal and spatial dynamics. This use case places specific and demanding requirements on mobile networks, as it includes a diverse range of services with varying needs. In this blog, we address this problem by flexible utilization of both Traffic Management rApp (TM-rApp) and Traffic Steering xApp (TS-xApp), which could help in V2X scenarios.

3GPP Release-19 is the second release of the 5G-Advanced standard. Early workshops on this release were held in June 2023 discussing hundreds of submissions. The original assumption was that 3GPP Rel-19 would primarily focus on investing in the 5G-Advanced commercial deployments to further improve performance and address critical needs. In this post, we’re elaborating on the contents of the selected WIs and SIs to be incorporated within 3GPP Rel-19 as of December 2023.

In this blog post, we show how the utilization of both Traffic Management rApp and Traffic Steering xApp could help in V2X scenarios. We also emphasize the use of enrichment information, made available through O-RAN, that suits specifically to vehicular services, such as car platoon geolocation or emergency situation notifications. The flexibility offered by the O-RAN architecture allows for optimized resource management through policy control in companion with EI when dynamic changes occur on the road. This is analyzed within the context of specific O-RAN use cases related to V2X.

Recently, security has been pointed out as one of the critical aspects moving forward within the O-RAN domain. Expanded threat surface, as well as specific security challenges and opportunities, have been identified. This whitepaper provides an overview of security topics in O-RAN, specifically in 5G/6G mobile radio networks. We also consider artificial intelligence embedded in the network edge as a great tool to support security. We present some xApps applied to detect and mitigate example attacks. Conclusions and a discussion on the directions of future developments follow this.

Signaling Storm is a specific case of DoS or DDoS attack identified by the O-RAN ALLIANCE to be addressed by xApps. When firing this kind of attack, devices authorized (or not) to access the network make repeated attempts to connect to the network, „clogging up” the RACH. In addition, due to the multi-stage nature of the hand-shaking procedure, a whole range of redundant control information is generated in the access and core network. It is, therefore, essential to quickly locate the source of this threat and decide to reject the connection request at an early stage of registration. In this blog, we present a signaling storm detection approach and a proposed algorithm to be implemented as an xApp for O-RAN RIC.

The operating patterns of adversaries attacking the open radio interface are complicated and not obvious, e.g., an adversary carrying out a jamming attack may change the attacked band or periodically interrupt jamming. The prospective defense algorithms should be able to not only detect anomalies but also adapt to a variety of attack mechanisms. This can be done by AI/ML methods, which have been researched over the last years. In this post, we present an AI/ML-based jamming attack detection and analysis mechanism for Near-RT RIC.

Energy consumption is a critical aspect of any service in these modern times. In telecommunications, a flexible approach to network planning, control, and management is extremely beneficial in this aspect. The concept of O-RAN enables the creation of algorithms that allow energy saving in a manner independent of the equipment or RAN software solution used. In this blog post, we present an innovative approach to energy saving using the RIC, which is based on the direct cooperation of Traffic Steering xApp and Energy Saving rApp.