Open RAN promises to lower network costs and barriers to entry to create competition through the standardization of hardware and software. But will this reduce the innovation in hardware and software design by dumbing down the systems? Will it increase security risks? Will it decrease economies of scale that the larger companies have developed? How would this effect RF component design and integration with system providers? What are the test challenges, and can standard testing be implemented? This panel discusses and debates the pros and cons of Open Radio Access Networks from a components and sub-systems point of view along with testing challenges and solutions for the overall network.

Moderator: Joe Madden, Chief Analyst at Mobile Experts
Panelist: Giampaolo Tardioli, Vice President and General Manager at Keysight Technologies
Panelist: Gerardo Giaretta, Senior Director, Product Management at Qualcomm Technologies
Panelist: Nitin Sharma, General Manager, Communications Business Unit at Analog Devices
Panelist: Gilles Garcia, Senior Director Business Lead Wired and Wireless Group at Xilinx
Panelist: Chris Murphy, Regional CTO, EMEA at VIAVI Solutions

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Moderator – Mobile Experts

Joe Madden, Chief Analyst (joe@mobile-experts.net)

Joe Madden is Chief Analyst at Mobile Experts Inc. Mr. Madden focuses on 5G, MEC, and IoT, leading a team of six analysts that provide strategic market intelligence to the mobile industry. Over 30 years in mobile communications, he accurately predicted the rise of 5G Fixed Wireless, Small Cells, Digital Predistortion, and Remote Radio Heads. He is currently working on strategic predictions for Edge Computing and 6G. Mr. Madden holds a Physics degree from UCLA. Despite learning about economics at Stanford, he still obeys the laws of physics.

Keysight Technologies

Giampaolo Tardioli, Vice President and General Manager

Giampaolo Tardioli is vice president and general manager of the network access segment of the Communications Solutions Group at Keysight Technologies.  He oversees solutions serving the base station, fronthaul, and backhaul markets. Prior to his current position, Dr. Tardioli was vice president of the chipset and components segment. He joined Hewlett-Packard in 1998 and served in a variety of senior management roles, both at the division and business unit levels, in Planning, R&D, quality, operations, and manufacturing. Dr. Tardioli holds an M.Sc, in Electrical Engineering from the Universita’ Politecnica delle Marche, Italy, and a Ph.D. in Computational Electromagnetics from the University of Victoria, Canada.

Qualcomm Technologies

Gerardo Giaretta, Senior Director, Product Management 

Gerardo Giaretta is currently a senior director of product management at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. where he leads the 5G Infrastructure Product Management team. Gerardo joined Qualcomm in 2007 and has since covered different roles in research, system design, standardization and product management. He recently was the product manager of Qualcomm SDX50, the first worldwide 5G modem chipset. Before joining Qualcomm Gerardo was part of the standardization team for Telecom Italia. Gerardo received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of a Padova and has been granted 55 patents.

Analog Devices

Nitin Sharma, General Manager, Communications Business Unit

Nitin Sharma is a technology executive with over 20 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, primarily focused on wireless technology development. Nitin is passionate about identifying emerging market trends and creating innovative technologies to address market needs. He currently is the General Manager of the Communications Business Unit at Analog Devices, where he is responsible for the defining technology and market growth strategies. Previously, Nitin held several positions in engineering, product development, marketing, and management with leading semiconductor and telecommunications companies. Nitin holds a MSEE from John Hopkins University and an Executive MBA from Boston University.

Xilinx

Gilles Garcia, Senior Director Business Lead Wired and Wireless Group

Gilles Garcia is the Wired and Wireless group Comms Business lead Senior Director at Xilinx having joined the Company in 2009. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the networking/telecom field. Prior to Xilinx, he was Director of Marketing and Communications for AppliedMicro in 2006 and Director of the Switch Fabric Business Unit in 2003. He also worked for IBM for 19 years, including four years as Strategic Marketing Manager of the IBM microelectronics division, where he oversaw managing the switch fabric business. Gilles’s work experience includes managing global accounts, Distribution customers, customer wins, P&L, strategic direction and investment, and corporate marketing and communications.

VIAVI Solutions

Chris Murphy, Regional CTO, EMEA

Chris has twenty years of commercial experience in telecommunications covering network performance measurement, optimization, and SON, particularly in cellular RAN including LTE, UMTS, CDMA, and 5G. His focus has been on the modelling, simulation, and optimization of next-generation technologies to build a revenue stream early in the lifecycle of each new generation of telecommunication systems. He has contributed to various industry and standardization bodies including 3GPP, NGMN, ATIS, and the WiMAX Forum. Chris joined VIAVI through their acquisition of Arieso. Prior he worked for Motorola and Nokia developing new technical capabilities for the service portfolio. He holds a degree in mathematics and computing and a PhD in the calibration of oceanic remote sensing satellites for improved models of climate change. He has authored various journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters, and has filed eighteen patent applications.