[Blog] How FPGAs Enable Flexible, Secure, Green Telecommunications

The telecommunications industry is undergoing a significant transformation with the adoption of Open Radio Access Network (ORAN) architecture. This innovative approach to network design promotes disaggregation and interoperability, allowing components from different vendors to work together seamlessly. As 5G networks continue to expand and evolve to support diverse use cases — from non-terrestrial networks (5G-NTN) to connected vehicles (5G C-V2X), railways (5G FRMCS), and industrial applications (5G URLLC) — field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) have emerged as an ideal technology enabler for ORAN implementation.

FPGAs offer a unique balance between custom silicon performance and software-defined flexibility and reconfigurability; providing the adaptability needed to support the wide array of use cases in modern telecommunications and supporting the different 3GPP releases including 5G, 5G advanced, and eventually 6G. Their ability to be dynamically reprogrammed to handle different workloads makes them particularly valuable in the rapidly evolving landscape of ORAN networks, where adaptability and performance must go hand in hand.

At Lattice, we are committed to partnering with telecommunications providers to enable a more flexible, secure, and sustainable future. We recently discussed this topic at the Open Compute Project’s 2024 Global Summit. Below is a rundown of key insights highlighted during our presentation, which align with the functional benefits of the Lattice ORAN™ Solution Stack.

Enhanced Security and Zero Trust Architecture

Cyber resiliency has become paramount for telecommunications infrastructure amid the rise of ORAN networks. In turn, organizations face heightened scrutiny from regulatory bodies such as ETSI, ENISA, CISA, and ORAN Alliance, which mandate the implementation of Zero Trust principles for strict identity verification and continuous monitoring of critical communications.

FPGAs with Root of Trust (RoT) capabilities play a vital role in securing ORAN deployments through crypto-agile security features. They perform essential cryptographic operations, including encryption, decryption, and secure key distribution and management, while acting as crypto bridges for legacy systems. In addition, they are particularly valuable in implementing emerging security standards, such as NIST’s AES-256 for 3GPP protocols and addressing the vulnerabilities in 5G RRC (Radio Resource Control) key exchange that could be exposed to quantum computing threats.

A key security feature enabled by FPGAs is their ability to "Secure the Wire™" within the control plane, ensuring both the integrity and confidentiality of signals through implementations of MACSEC/IPSec and secure timing protocols. This comprehensive security approach, combined with their crypto agility, makes FPGAs ideal for implementing evolving post-quantum cryptography (PQC) algorithms, ensuring ORAN networks remain secure against future threats.

Real World Implementation Success Stories and Advanced Synchronization

Leading telecommunications providers worldwide have already demonstrated the practical benefits of FPGA integration in their ORAN deployments. They have leveraged FPGAs for essential tasks such as interfacing data and control between baseband functions and the RF Front End (RFFE), as well as managing control and timing planes for Radio Units (RU) and Distributed Units (DU). In RUs, FPGAs handle demanding digital front-end processing tasks like filtering and crest factor reduction, ensuring high efficiency and low latency. Additionally, FPGAs are used for new fronthaul interfaces, crucial for dense deployments like Massive MIMO networks, to ensure high interoperability and reduce fronthaul costs. In DUs, FPGAs facilitate real-time signal processing and dynamic beamforming, allowing adaptation to varying radio environments without hardware modifications.

Another critical aspect of ORAN implementation is precise time synchronization, especially in 5G environments where precise timing, frequency, and phase alignments are essential for data transfer, handovers, and coordination between radio units and distributed units. The implementation of secure IEEE 1588v2 through FPGAs represents a significant advancement in this area.

Modern FPGA solutions, such as Lattice CertusPro™-NX FPGAs, provide comprehensive timing support through sophisticated hardware configurations that include PCIe x4 Gen 2 support, multiple SFP Ethernet ports, advanced timing features, and compliant support to IEEE 1588-2019 technical specification and ITU-T profiles (G.8265.1, G8275.1, G.8275.2). The FPGA-based timing solution incorporates key components such as a network clock synchronizer (DPLL), Stratum 3E OCXO, and GNSS timing modules, ensuring precise synchronization across the network.

This implementation provides source authentication, message integrity, and replay attack protection through HMAC-SHA256-128 algorithms with robust key management and distribution procedures, ensuring shared secrets are distributed securely and available at all PTP nodes.

Advancing Green Telecommunications Through Low Power Solutions

Power efficiency has become a critical consideration in network design. FPGAs contribute to creating greener ORAN networks, particularly in small cell deployments. By providing efficient bridging between L1/L2/L3 and antenna systems. For example, low power and compact FPGAs reduce the overall power consumption and design footprint, and simplify thermal management requirements in the use of PCIe and JESD interfaces.

Small cells are integral to 5G ORAN networks, and their deployment success heavily depends on flexible, reconfigurable, and low power solutions. The integration of FPGAs in small cell designs enables high-speed data transfer while maintaining energy efficiency. This is particularly evident in modern small cell development boards that combine multiple functions, including Layerscape® processors, baseband processors, and RFFE components, all coordinated through FPGA technology.

The integration capabilities of FPGAs allow multiple functions to be consolidated onto a single chip, reducing the bill of materials (BOM), simplifying network designs and lowering the cost and risk associated with adapting to changing requirements and evolving 5G technology. This integration is crucial for making small cell deployments more cost effective and easier to scale. By reducing the need for additional components to manage power and cooling, FPGAs significantly lower the total cost of ownership, while maintaining a smaller environmental footprint.

Shaping the Future of Telecommunications

FPGAs have proven to be fundamental in realizing the vision of open, flexible, and efficient ORAN networks. Their unique combination of reconfigurability, processing power, and energy efficiency addresses the key challenges faced in modern telecommunications infrastructure. As the industry continues to evolve, FPGAs will play an increasingly important role in enabling new use cases and meeting future requirements.

The success stories from major telecommunications providers referenced above demonstrate that FPGAs are not just theoretical solutions, but practical enablers of ORAN implementation. Their ability to support secure, high performance, and power efficient operations makes them invaluable for network operators looking to deploy flexible and future-ready ORAN solutions.

As we look ahead, the Communications industry must continue to prioritize security, flexibility, and sustainability in network design. FPGAs provide the foundation for achieving these objectives while supporting the industry's transition to open, disaggregated network architectures. By leveraging FPGA technology, network operators can build ORAN networks that are both secure and environmentally responsible, paving the way for a greener and more resilient telecommunications future.

To learn more about how the Lattice ORAN solution stack enables secure, synchronized, and low power ORAN deployment, contact our team today. Click here to watch the replay of the “Future Ready Green ORAN: Leveraging FPGAs for Enhanced Security, Performance and Low Power” presentation from OCP Summit 2024.