ITS@OpenRAN - Towards an Intelligent Transport System support on the Open Radio Access Network

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication is a key use case driving 5G and 6G networks. However, the rigidity of traditional radio access networks creates significant barriers to new proposals and innovation. The vision of open radio access networks (Open RAN), proposed by the O-RAN Alliance, offers opportunities to leverage intelligent, real-time control of V2X communication. Yet, integration between V2X and O-RAN remains a work in progress. This paper presents initial steps toward ITS@OpenRAN, an architecture designed to integrate 5G-V2X communication into Open RAN. The proposal includes xApps that use information about vehicles connected to the 5G base station (gNB) and apply the required quality of service for V2X communication. In this approach, RSU functionalities are incorporated as a service within the gNB, specifically in the Distributed Unit (DU).