Impact at a Glance
- Time to prototype reduced by: From 3 weeks to 10 days
- Number of live demos delivered using MX-PDK: 4
- Number of people in Research teams actively using the platform: 8
- 6G/advanced features under evaluation: 2 use cases
When Finland set its sights on becoming a global leader in 6G, VTT , Finland’s Technical Research Centre, stood at the center of that ambition. With large-scale test networks across the country and deep collaboration with industry, VTT carries the responsibility of turning early-stage research into real-world, deployable technology. But as mobile networks evolved toward Open RAN, cloud-native architectures, and fully programmable systems, VTT faced a familiar R&D challenge: how to move faster without sacrificing technical depth, openness, or experimental freedom.
That challenge is what brought VTT and BubbleRAN together
The collaboration has roots that go back long before the platform itself. Tao Chen, Principal Scientist and Senior Project Manager at VTT, and Navid Nikaien, CEO of BubbleRAN, began working together as early as 2015, when the Open RAN concept was still taking shape. Their work during the EU-funded Coherent Project contributed to the early thinking behind what would later become the O-RAN Alliance. Since then, both have remained deeply involved in shaping the open, cloud-based direction of mobile networks through standardization, research programs, and real-world experimentation.
Today, Tao not only leads advanced mobile network research at VTT, but also serves as a project coordinator for the EU 6G Cloud project and as chair of an O-RAN Alliance working group. That unique combination of applied research and global standardization gives him a clear view of where networks are headed and what research platforms must deliver to stay relevant.
By 2023, VTT was ready to take the next step in its Open RAN and 6G experimentation journey. It needed a platform that could support full end-to-end experimentation, from radio and cloud infrastructure to network intelligence and vertical applications. Just as important, it needed something flexible enough to evolve alongside rapidly changing research topics. That is when VTT selected BubbleRAN’s MX-PDK as its core platform for 5G and 6G network research.
MX-PDK was deployed into VTT’s internal 5G network environment through a remote installation on a standalone machine with cloud features, integrating a Benetel outdoor radio unit. From the very beginning, the platform gave VTT what it needed most: a complete, O-RAN–compliant system that exposed the full protocol stack while remaining highly programmable. Instead of stitching together multiple tools, the research teams could now experiment on a single, unified platform that mirrored real-world network behavior.
The impact was immediate
Tasks that once took weeks to integrate and demonstrate could now be turned into live prototypes in a fraction of the time. The open APIs and cloud-native design of MX-PDK allowed VTT’s engineers to focus on innovation rather than infrastructure complexity.
“For us, the most valuable part is the speed at which we can demonstrate new concepts,” Tao explains. “We have a deep understanding of what the platform can do, how we can extend it, and how we can reuse its existing capabilities. We’ve already delivered two full demos using MX-PDK.”
This rapid prototyping capability has strengthened VTT’s role inside Finland’s 5G and 6G ecosystem. With three specialized research teams focusing on connectivity, coverage, mobile networks, network reliability, and wireless solutions, VTT now experiments MX-PDK as a shared foundation for collaboration with Finnish industry partners for various use cases. The platform has become a bridge between academic research and industrial validation allowing companies to test, measure, and refine next-generation network technologies in realistic environments.
Yet the success of the collaboration is not only about the platform. For VTT, the working relationship with BubbleRAN has proven just as critical. From the early stages of deployment, the BubbleRAN team has provided hands-on technical support, fast responses through a dedicated customer channel, and deep expertise across the entire protocol stack.
“We are delighted to work with a trusted solution provider,” Tao says. “They understand the full system, from radio to cloud to applications, and that’s essential when your research spans across all those layers.”
As VTT moves deeper into 6G research, the partnership continues to expand in scope. One major focus area is Integrated Sensing and Communication (ISAC), where communication networks begin to function as environmental sensors as well. Using MX-PDK, VTT is developing and evaluating ISAC features with Finnish industry partners, measuring critical system metrics such as throughput, latency, and spectrum behavior.
BubbleRAN’s steady cadence of software releases ensures that the platform continues to evolve alongside emerging 6G requirements. This forward-looking roadmap gives VTT confidence that its research infrastructure will not become obsolete as new architectural concepts mature.
Looking ahead, the collaboration is set to deepen even further. Joint participation in future O-RAN PlugFest events is on the horizon, where the two organizations will validate interoperability alongside global operators and vendors. At the same time, new synergies can be opening across the Finnish 6G Bridge program and ongoing EU research initiatives.
What began as a long-standing professional relationship between two Open RAN pioneers can become a strategic collaboration at the heart of Finland’s 6G journey. By combining VTT’s research leadership with BubbleRAN’s cloud-native, end-to-end Open RAN platform, the two organizations are accelerating the path from theory to deployment, turning future network concepts into working systems.
Together, VTT and BubbleRAN are making the next generation of telecom happen.