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. This demonstration integrates AmpliTech's commercial-grade massive MIMO Category B radio unit with the OpenAirInterface 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.
The importance of this achievement lies in its challenge to historical industry assumptions. Massive MIMO systems, which use large antenna arrays to serve multiple users simultaneously through spatial multiplexing, have traditionally required tightly integrated, vendor-specific implementations. This demonstration shows that the full stack, from the physical layer up through the RAN control plane, can be assembled from open, interoperable components without reliance on proprietary, closed solutions. Category B is the technically demanding fronthaul interface that enables this at massive MIMO scale, and its successful validation here marks a first for open-source RAN.
"This is a significant step toward making Massive MIMO Open RAN a practical reality rather than a research ambition," said Tommaso Melodia, Director of the Institute for Intelligent Networked Systems at Northeastern University. "Demonstrating that AmpliTech's commercial massive MIMO radio integrates seamlessly into a fully open-source stack opens entirely new possibilities for how next-generation networks are designed, deployed, and optimized without locking operators into proprietary ecosystems."
The demonstration combined AmpliTech's massive MIMO 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.
"The 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 our community," said Irfan Ghauri, Director of Operations at the OpenAirInterface Software Alliance. "This demonstration with Northeastern and AmpliTech is exactly the kind of end-to-end validation that turns open-source software from a research tool into a credible foundation for commercial deployment. It shows that openness and high-performance massive MIMO are not in conflict, they are fully compatible."
The implications for the telecommunications industry are substantial. This breakthrough could accelerate the adoption of Open RAN architectures by providing operators with confidence that high-capacity massive MIMO systems can operate effectively in disaggregated, multi-vendor environments. For network operators, this means potentially lower costs, greater flexibility in vendor selection, and reduced dependency on single suppliers. For the broader wireless ecosystem, it represents progress toward more open, interoperable standards that could foster innovation and competition.
"This demonstration is a critical milestone for AmpliTech and for the Open RAN ecosystem," said Fawad Maqbool, CEO and CTO of AmpliTech Group. "Seeing our 64T64R Category B radio operate end-to-end within a fully open-source stack at Northeastern proves that high-capacity massive MIMO and true multi-vendor openness are no longer in tension. This is the kind of validation that gives operators the confidence to deploy Open RAN at scale, and it demonstrates AmpliTech's commitment to building radios that work in real, disaggregated environments, not just proprietary lab conditions."
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. The open-source nature of the demonstration means the architecture can be studied, replicated, and extended, accelerating adoption across the research and operator communities. 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.
