The US Department of Defense's (DoD) FutureG program, led by Tom Rondeau, is making waves with its ambitious initiative, OCUDU. This project aims to revolutionize the radio access network (RAN) by replacing proprietary software with open-source code, a move that could disrupt the mobile industry. The program's recent $28 million contract award to Cohere Technologies, a company championing orthogonal time frequency space (OTFS) technology, has sparked interest and debate. The choice of OTFS over the more established orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology is significant, especially for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) services. This decision may not sit well with industry giants Ericsson and Nokia, who have heavily invested in OFDM.
Rondeau's decision to support OTFS over OFDM is a bold move, given the latter's dominance in 5G and the industry's reluctance to change. The DoD's interest in ISAC is driven by its potential to transform civilian mobile networks into advanced radars, capable of tracking objects like enemy drones. OTFS, with its superior accuracy, is seen as a more suitable waveform for this purpose. The contract award to Cohere could be a precursor to a larger investment in equipping US mobile sites with OTFS technology, benefiting major operators like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
The OCUDU initiative, backed by the Linux Foundation, offers a unique opportunity to disrupt the RAN market. By creating a full reference stack and allowing innovators to tinker with it, OCUDU aims to foster competition and innovation. Rondeau believes that this approach can overcome the challenges faced by earlier 'open RAN' initiatives, where big vendors were slow to adopt open standards. The program has already garnered positive feedback from industry players, including Qualcomm, which has recognized the need to be part of this disruptive force.
Cohere's OTFS technology, integrated with OCUDU, presents a compelling solution. By separating the control plane from the user plane, Cohere's approach ensures compatibility with existing networks. This 'air-gapping' technique allows for the coexistence of OTFS with OFDM and future waveforms, making it a flexible and adaptable solution. However, the industry's inertia and the dominance of established vendors like Ericsson and Nokia pose significant challenges to the success of OCUDU and Cohere's efforts.
Despite these obstacles, Rondeau's leadership and the DoD's substantial budget provide a powerful platform for disruption. The program's focus on open-source code and innovation positions it as a potential game-changer in the mobile industry. As the project progresses, the industry will closely watch whether OCUDU and Cohere can overcome the challenges and deliver on their disruptive promises.
