ACES Solutions

ACES R&D

Open RAN & 5G Innovation: Proprietary Telecom Products for the Next Generation

About

ACES R&D

The ACES Research & Development department is the innovation engine of the organisation, focused on developing next-generation telecom solutions aligned with Open RAN and 5G/6G evolution. The department develops proprietary hardware and software products, operates research testbeds, and holds registered intellectual property, including Saudi Arabia's first indigenously developed shareable 5G small cell.

Solutions

Select a solution to learn more.

Open RAN System Development

Design and integration of O-RAN compliant network architectures for next-generation shared wireless infrastructure.

What we deliver

O-RAN compliant network architecture design and integration

Shareable 5G small cell end-to-end development (RF, antenna, system)

Multi-operator neutral host network architectures (MORAN)

srsRAN-based testbed environments for validation and prototyping

RIC (RAN Intelligent Controller) development and testing

Small Cell Forum 2025 award — 5G SA Extreme N77 (KSA), with CST, Mobily, Zain KSA and Nokia

IEEE Future Networks — Honorable Mention

Shareable 5G small cell showcased at LEAP 2025

R&D hardware on display at the ACES stand, LEAP 2025

The R&D team at the ACES R&D stand, LEAP 2025

DAS and signal enhancement demonstration

Research & Publications

Peer-reviewed research

Papers authored or co-authored by the ACES R&D team, published with IEEE, MDPI, Springer and Nature Scientific Reports.

01Optimizing Coverage and Capacity in 5G ORAN Small Cells with srsRAN Test BedIEEE2024Read paper 02Dashboard Deployment of 5G O-RAN Small cells: Optimized system and Transceiver App for srsRANIEEE2024Read paper 03A Massive MIMO Antenna Array Loaded with Quadruple Sequentially Rotated Square SRR for 5G Base StationScopus2024Read paper 04Design and Implementation of Multi-Carrier Trapezoidal Antenna for O-RAN compliant 5G Indoor Small Cells CoverageIEEE2024Read paper 05A Compact C-Band Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Circular Microstrip Patch Antenna Array with Octagonal Slotted Ground Plane and Neutralization Line for Improved Port Isolation in 5G Handheld DevicesMDPI Electronics2024Read paper 065G URLLC in Transport and Open RAN: Disaggregation RAN and Functional SplitsIEEE2023Read paper 075G Small Cell and Open RAN: Design Parameter Perspectives and Analysis for Indoor CoverageIEEE2022Read paper 08Art of antenna designing for 5G (mmWave) next generation networksIEEE2017Read paper 09Performance Analysis of OSPF and Hybrid NetworksIEEE2017Read paper 10Metamaterial-Enhanced MIMO Antenna for Multi-Operator ORAN Indoor Base Stations in 5G Sub-6 GHz Bandmdpi2025Read paper 11Design and Implementation of Multi-Channel RF Front End for Performance Analysis in srsRAN Based ORAN 5G Small Cell NetworkSmartNets2025Read paper 12Dual-band composite high gain MIMO antenna for 5G NR applications employing shareable small cell radio unitNature, Scientific Report2026Read paper 13Multi-Band Hybrid DRA for O-RAN Compliant 5G Small Cell Radio UnitIEEE2025Read paper

Accepted for publication

14Intelligent Near-RT RIC xApp for 5G O-RAN Small Cells: Energy-Efficient PRB Optimization with E2 ControlIEEE2026

15Flared-Shape Omnidirectional Antenna for 5G ORAN Indoor Communication SystemsIEEE2026

16MORAN-Enabled O-RAN Split 7.2 Based 5G Indoor Small Cell Using srsRAN and a Custom RF Front EndIEEE2026

Success Stories

Landmark projects & outcomes

Key achievements delivered by this practice area.

Shareable 5G Small Cell Product

End-to-end development of a proprietary shareable 5G small cell radio unit for neutral host and multi-operator indoor deployments, with 5 registered intellectual property filings.

RIC Testbed · KACST Collaboration

RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) research testbed developed in collaboration with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) under the RDIA national research program.

MOCN 5G Standalone Proof of Concept

Industry-first Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) Proof of Concept delivered with CST, Nokia, Mobily, and Zain KSA. It enables 5G Standalone (SA) indoor coverage using shareable indoor spectrum in the 4.0–4.1 GHz (N77) band.

KAFD O-RAN Proof of Concept

O-RAN proof-of-concept deployment at King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD) under the support of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and the Research, Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA).