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The 2023 5G Challenge Event
In the 2023 5G Challenge, NTIA/ITS will award a total prize purse of up to $7,000,000 in cash and in-kind prizes to high-performing 5G subsystems that showcase multi-vendor interoperability across Radio Units (RU) and combined Central Units and Distributed Units (CU+DU).
The 5G Challenge is facilitating contestant testing through three stages of integration, each building on the previous stage:
- Wrap-around emulation testing (on each contestant subsystem individually)
- End-to-end (E2E) integration testing, to establish and test an E2E session (CU+DU and RU)
- Mobility testing between two E2E sessions
See the Official Rules on the Resources page.
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2023 5G Challenge Contestant Teams
Team 1
Pairing 1: Mavenir Systems, Inc. (CU+DU); NewEdge Inc. (RU)
Pairing 2: Radisys Corp. (CU+DU); LIONS Technology (RU)
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Team 2
Pairing 1: Capgemini Engineering (CU+DU); Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc. and AT&T (RU)
Pairing 2: GXC, Inc. (CU+DU); GXC, Inc. (RU)
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Contest Structure
Contest Structure
Contest Structure
Overview
The 2023 5G Challenge is testing the following subsystems:
Combined Central Unit (CU) and Distributed Unit (DU), abbreviated CU+DU. The CU and DU can be from the same or different vendors. Contestants having only a CU or only a DU have to partner with another contestant to test a combined CU+DU.
Radio Unit (RU). The RU must have the ability to operate with cabled air interface emulation supporting up to 4x4 MIMO (FR1 only).
Contestants were encouraged to submit multiple subsystems of a single type, such as two RUs with different technical specifications.
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The 2023 5G Challenge is evaluating the following interfaces:
3GPP interface NG (N2/N3) and NAS (N1). RAN interface to 5G core. N1 is a transparent interface between the user equipment (UE) and the 5G core. NG control plane is also known as N2. NG user plane is also known as N3.
O-RAN ALLIANCE interface Open Fronthaul (DU to RU). Includes Control, User, Synchronization (CUS) Plane and Management Plane protocols. Based on lower layer functional split “7-2x” and leverages eCPRI protocols.
3GPP Interface Xn. Call Handover will be tested via this interface as well as the N2 interface.
3GPP Interface Uu. Logical interface between RU and UE.
Timeline
The 2023 5G Challenge Timeline
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2023 Host Lab
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As the host lab, CableLabs is providing two separate 5G test and emulation systems. Each contestant subsystem has been assigned to one of these two systems. Contestant subsystems that pass the emulated testing will be integrated with other contestantsʼ subsystems along with the host labʼs baseline system consisting of a 5G SA core and UE emulator. “Plug-and-play” performance is being evaluated using a standard corpus of performance metrics. For more information on the host labʼs 5G systems, see the “Host Lab Configuration” document.
Contestants
Contestants
Wraparound Emulation Testing Track
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NTIA/ITS will award prizes of $100,000 each to the first 10 contestants who meet the minimum performance threshold during Stage Two.
Contestants that submit multiple subsystems will qualify for multiple Wrap-around Emulation prizes for any of their subsystems that meet the minimum performance threshold during Stage Two.
End-to-End Integration Testing Track
End-to-End Integration Testing Track
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Mobility Testing Track
Mobility Testing Track
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Contest Prizes
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Contest Prizes
Contest Prizes
Mobility Prizes
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The Mobility testing prize will be awarded to the Stage Four mobility testing group that best works together to demonstrate mobility. Mobility testing will include the handover of a UE from a source gNB to a target gNB (i.e., inter-gNB). Both Xn-based and N2-based handover procedures will be tested. A $3,000,000 purse will be divided equally among the contestants involved.
Multi-Vendor End-To-End (E2E) Integration Prizes
NTIA/ITS will award a $2,000,000 Multi-vendor E2E Integration prize purse to the two top-performing CU+DU and RU contestant pairings. The first and second prizes will be awarded equally to both CU+DU and RU contestants. Only cold pairings that are selected by NTIA/ITS will qualify. Details on how each subsystem is tested and scored can be found in the Official Rules on the Resources page.
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Lab Time Prize
The 1st prize CU+DU and RU winners will receive the in-kind prize of three weeks of host lab testing, with a similar level of support from the 2023 5G Challenge host lab as during the contest.
Wraparound Emulation Prizes
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NTIA/ITS will award prizes of $100,000 each to the first 10 contestants who meet the minimum performance threshold for Wraparound Emulation testing. Additional contestant selections for Wraparound Emulation testing are TBD.
Contestants that submit multiple subsystems will qualify for multiple Wraparound Emulation prizes for any of their subsystems that meet the minimum performance threshold.
Best in Show
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Best Software Bill of Materials (SBOM)
Awarded to the two contestants with the highest rated SBOM and VEX. Each Best SBOM Prize consists of $100,000 and two weeks of security testing.
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Best Collaborator
Awarded to the contestant that receives highest collaboration score. The host lab will assess each contestant's overall responsiveness during testing. Contestants will submit peer ratings. The contestant that receives the highest score is the Best Collaborator. The Best Collaborator Prize consists of $20,000 and two weeks of security testing.
Security Testing Prize
Each winner of this in-kind prize will receive two weeks of security testing performed by the host lab.
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