AmpliTech and Northeastern University Achieve First Open-Source Massive MIMO O-RAN System with Category B Fronthaul

AmpliTech Group, Inc. and researchers at Northeastern University's Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems have successfully demonstrated the first open-source prototype of a massive MIMO O-RAN system achieving O-RAN Category B operation in a laboratory environment. The demonstration integrates AmpliTech's commercial-grade mMIMO Category B radio unit with the OpenAirInterface (OAI) CU/DU stack, marking the first time a full, end-to-end massive MIMO O-RAN system has been assembled entirely from open, interoperable components. This validation proves that high-capacity massive MIMO and true multi-vendor openness are compatible, giving operators confidence to deploy Open RAN at scale.

The demonstration combined AmpliTech's mMIMO O-RAN Category B radio unit with OAI's CU/DU into a single cohesive, standards-compliant platform. The INSI team showcased hybrid beamforming capabilities with a 2-layer MIMO configuration, demonstrating sustained throughput under mobility conditions with proper beam management. Critically, it validates that AmpliTech's radio unit, designed for commercial deployment, can operate at full performance within a fully open, multi-vendor stack. This challenges the historical requirement for tightly integrated, vendor-specific implementations in massive MIMO systems, which use large antenna arrays to serve multiple users simultaneously through spatial multiplexing.

Category B is the technically demanding fronthaul interface that enables massive MIMO at scale, and its successful validation here marks a first for open-source RAN. Tommaso Melodia, Director of the Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems at Northeastern University, stated that this demonstration makes Massive MIMO Open RAN a practical reality rather than a research ambition. The open-source nature of the demonstration means the architecture can be studied, replicated, and extended, accelerating adoption across research and operator communities. The INSI team led the system integration, testbed configuration, and validation measurements, providing a reproducible reference implementation that academic and industry researchers can build upon.

Irfan Ghauri, Director of Operations at the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance, emphasized that O-RAN 7.2 Category B is the interface that truly unlocks massive MIMO at scale, and achieving it with an open-source stack has been a long-standing goal for the community. This end-to-end validation turns open-source software from a research tool into a credible foundation for commercial deployment. Fawad Maqbool, CEO and CTO of AmpliTech Group, noted that this demonstration proves AmpliTech's commitment to building radios that work in real, disaggregated environments, not just proprietary lab conditions. The results align with growing momentum around Open RAN and next-generation wireless systems, where flexibility, vendor interoperability, and intelligent control are viewed as essential properties for future 5G and 6G deployments. For further information about the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance, visit https://www.openairinterface.org.