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The “Multi-G” framework was formed by Cohere Technologies in collaboration with several other major industry players, including Intel, Juniper Networks, Mavenir, and VMware by Broadcom, in response to demand from mobile operators. The initiative is also supported by industry organizations including the O-RAN Alliance and the Telecom Infra Project (TIP). This collaboration has created the industry’s first framework for a multi-generational (or Multi-G), software-based Open RAN architecture.
The Multi-G framework also breaks the cycle of the industry waiting a decade or more for the next “G” to arrive. It comes at a time when the industry urgently needs to address flatlining growth, and deal with regulatory and competitive headwinds.
How does it break the “G” cycle? Via waveform co-existence where the Multi-G Programmable Layer 1 PHY uses MU-MIMO spatial multiplexing, in an FDD or TDD sector, to send two orthogonal beams from 4G and 5G or, in the future, 5G and 6G. In terms of spectral efficiency, since Multi-G allows 4G and 5G to be deployed on the same spectrum, it improves the ROI per Hertz on existing spectrum assets.
By transforming the “G” into programmable software, operators adopting the framework can deploy “6G” or other waveform technologies such as DoD or private today. This includes, for example, the revolutionary radar-based OTFS (Orthogonal Time Frequency Space) waveform, pioneered by Cohere, that can support mobility at hypersonic speeds. This means communicating with fast-moving satellites, autonomous vehicles, and drones. Programmability and co-existence means the Multi-G framework can effectively support future use cases today, without operators having to invest in new spectrum or equipment.
The Programmable Layer 1 PHY, based on Intel FlexRAN, that supports MU-MIMO, is sharable by multiple DUs via a Split 6 MAC-PHY interface, and is driven by an intelligent shared scheduler xApp connected via a VMware Distributed RAN Intelligent Controller (dRIC), to the standards-based O-RAN E2SM interfaces on each participating base station. This ability to provide common scheduling to multiple DUs enables the Programmable Layer 1 PHY to simultaneously send two orthogonal MU-MIMO beams. The shared scheduler xApp Delay-Doppler channel model manages the downlink traffic flows from both base stations and schedules the most optimal traffic pairings between the DUs in every TTI.
