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Byung Woo Jun shares some takeaways from the OAI Summer Workshop.

"The OAI Summer Workshop 2025, hosted at Ericsson HQ in Kista, Sweden, marked a pivotal step in the open-source journey toward AI-native 6G networks. Co-organized by the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance (OSA) and Ericsson, the workshop showcased how open-source platforms like OAI are enabling breakthroughs in AI-driven orchestration, large language models (LLMs), digital twins, and edge intelligence for next-generation wireless systems.

  • Dates: May 21–22, 2025
  • Location: Ericsson HQ, Kista, Sweden
  • Organized by the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance and Ericsson, the workshop brought together OAI developers, researchers, and industry experts.

With contributions from academia, industry, standards bodies, and open-source developers, the workshop demonstrated real-world prototypes that tightly integrate AI into RAN, core, and NTN domains, reinforcing OAI’s role as a strategic enabler of commercial telecom innovation.

Business Highlights

  • Commercial Viability of Open Source:
    • OAI has evolved from research into a proven foundation for commercial telecom products, enabling startups, SMEs, and large enterprises to accelerate time-to-market.
  • System Comprehension as an AI Imperative:
    • Ericsson emphasized the importance of AI that understands telecom-specific code, architecture, and operations, powered by custom domain-specific LLMs.
  • Open Source as a Strategic Lever:
    • Beyond cost savings, open-source collaboration ensures agility, faster innovation, and competitiveness.
  • Integration with O-RAN and Automation
    • OAI is increasingly aligned with O-RAN and intelligent control frameworks, enabling AI-native orchestration and closed-loop RAN automation.
  • Support for Emerging Use Cases:
    • Demonstrations highlighted OAI’s ability to support Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN), AI-enhanced beamforming, and 6G prototyping.
  • Sustainable Ecosystem Development:
    • The workshop reinforced OAI’s role in bridging academia, startups, hyperscalers, and vendors, ensuring long-term sustainability.
  • Deep dive into the OAI license:
    • Highlighting how it was crafted to balance open collaboration with the FRAND-based IP commitments

Technology Highlights

  • AI-Native Wireless Systems:
    • Real-time deployment of neural receivers, AI-based PHY processing, and AI-driven orchestration across OAI testbeds.
    • NVIDIA, Emerson/NI, Northeastern, and Ericsson demonstrated low-latency AI inference integrated with the wireless stack.
  • Digital Twin Environments:
    • Northeastern’s BostonTwin and Colosseum showcased city-scale 3D models, ray tracing, and AI-based propagation prediction, reducing simulations from hours to milliseconds.
    • Enabled reproducible, large-scale 5G/6G experimentation.
  • Edge-AI and Hardware Acceleration:
    • AI inference on NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin for real-time beamforming and energy-efficient RAN control.
    • Hardware-in-the-loop testing at sub-THz frequencies validated next generation PHY concepts.
  • System Comprehension Lab (Ericsson):
    • Introduction of LLM-powered system comprehension agents for RAN software exploration, debugging, and reasoning.
    • Demonstrated tools like the NR Sysdoc Agent for AI-assisted engineering.
  • Energy-Aware Intelligence:
    • New tools for real-time power monitoring compared energy consumption of traditional vs. AI-based PHY chains.
    • Insights into cell sleep modes, energy-aware scaling, and sustainable network design.
  • 6G Forward-Looking Innovations:
    • Exploration of AI-native scheduling, ISAC (Integrated Sensing and Communication), and modular 6G architectures.
    • Roadmaps for end-to-end AI-native RAN and integration with O-RAN automation frameworks.

Strategic Impact

  • Open Source → Strategic Enabler: OpenAirInterface is now recognized not just as a research tool but as a cornerstone of global telecom innovation, driving standards alignment, ecosystem growth, and real-world deployments.
  • Telecom AI Convergence: By combining LLMs, AI-native PHY, orchestration agents, and digital twins, the OAI ecosystem is redefining how networks are designed, tested, and optimized.
  • 6G as an AI-Native Network: With IMT-2030 and early 3GPP Rel-20 work underway, OAI is positioning itself at the heart of AI-native 6G design, testing, and standardization.

Conclusion

The OAI Summer Workshop 2025 underscored a transformative moment: open-source has moved beyond experimentation to become a strategic foundation for 5G-Advanced and 6G. From AI-native wireless stacks and digital twins to LLM-powered comprehension tools and non-terrestrial network emulation, the workshop showcased how collaborative innovation is shaping the future of telecom. As OAI continues to evolve, it stands as a bridge between academia, industry, and standards, ensuring that 6G will be open, intelligent, and sustainable."