FAQ

The Minimum Viable Profile (MVP) establishes a minimum common set of requirements based on existing standards and specifications as guidance for the North American Open RAN market. Adherence to the MVP requirements is intended to serve as an enabler for leveraging Open RAN opportunities in the North American market.

Trusted suppliers can use the MVP to enter into the RAN market with the knowledge that they meet some baseline requirements for deployment. This will lower technical market entry barriers for suppliers targeting the MNO RAN market.

Simplifying the integration of new products in a network by improving multivendor interoperability is a core goal of the MVP. At the same time, the MVP is one component of deploying a network. There are many other steps that carriers and suppliers take for deployments to ensure reliable and secure networks.

The list of participating organizations is available here.

The goal of the ATIS MVP effort is to address the North American market. 

It is possible that in the future, some level of the MVP could be adopted to meet the needs of operators in other parts of the world.

The MVP specifies a suite of security requirements that when implemented will help to reduce the security risks associated with open interfaces and RAN components. It also references industry best practices to follow related to secure-by-design and Zero Trust principles.

The creation of an MVP will help avoid fragmentation by identifying the baseline requirements that are common to most/all mobile network operators.

The MVP will be consistent with existing specifications including those defined by 3GPP and the O-RAN Alliance, which is the global body developing Open RAN specifications. As previously noted, the MVP will be a minimum common set of requirements that RAN suppliers can use to support interoperability of their RAN equipment. The intention of the MVP is to foster interoperability and innovation.

Key industry stakeholders recommended ATIS, a leading North American Standards Development Organization (SDO) in the sector, as a home for the industry-led MVP effort. ATIS is the North American partner of 3GPP, has an existing MoU with the O-RAN Alliance governing the transposition of O-RAN Alliance specifications into ATIS standards. ATIS has worked extensively with the government on a number of initiatives. Given the U.S. government focus and the desire that “trusted private sector partners” develop the profile, ATIS was the logical organization to host this initiative.