2022 TSC Election Candidates

Evil Galactic Overlord Industries

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I like to serve as an example to others.

https://lists.onap.org/g/onap-tsc/message/8848

N. K. Shankaranarayanan (Shankar) is a Senior Principal Architect with Sterlite Technologies Limited (STL) leading architecture, strategy, and standards for innovative wireless network solutions. Prior to joining STL in mid-2021, he worked for 29+ years with AT&T Labs creating and delivering research innovations in wireless systems & networks, and providing leadership in wireless standards. His work has spanned diverse areas including cloud-based 5G/4G RAN automation production solutions, Near-RT RIC field trials, service and network quality management, radio propagation, full-duplex wireless, fixed wireless systems, and optical fiber/cable systems. 

Shankar has worked to establish the foundations of open solutions in real networks as well as in standards organizations. During 2018-2021, he led the development and production deployment of the first ONAP-based 5G SON solution in AT&T. He was a key contributor in the first Near-RT RIC field trials at AT&T. Since 2021, Shankar has been serving on the ONAP Technical Steering Committee. Since 2018, he has been leading the ONAP 5G SON Use Case development of ONAP-based SON solutions and PoC demonstrations. He is the rapporteur for the O-RAN WG1 work item on Decoupled SMO Architecture. During 2006-2008, he served as member of the Board of Directors, and Chair of the Service Provider Working Group, of the WiMAX Forum. Shankar has 95+ patents in his name and 50+ research publications. He has a Ph.D from Columbia University (New York), an M.S. from Virginia Tech, and a B.Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology (Bombay), all in Electrical Engineering.

I have been the ONAP SON Use Case lead since the Casablanca release, and am also actively engaged with ONAP/O-RAN/OSC Harmonization. I joined the TSC in October 2021 to help with the application of ONAP for 5G. The work in ONAP for SON and Slicing Use Cases is relevant to the O-RAN SMO. In the last year I successfully championed a new work item in O-RAN WG1 and am the rapporteur for the Decoupled SMO Architecture Technical Report.

Since mid-2021, I have been a Senior Principal Architect at Sterlite Technologies Limited (STL) leading work on architecture, strategy, and standards for ONAP/O-RAN based wireless network solutions. Before that, I was with AT&T Labs Research for more than 29 years working to deliver research innovations in wireless systems and networks.

Under my leadership, the ONAP SON Use Case team gained multi-company support and has developed a solid foundation for ONAP-based SON with several successful PoC demonstrations. We had a strong and early focus on being aligned with O-RAN and 3GPP. The solution includes flows O-RAN O1 and A1 based actions, FM/PM/CM notifications from the RAN, a RAN-Sim simulator component, and a methodology for incorporating AI/ML in the applications. We did our use case integration testing as an early adopter of the Rutgers University ONAP Wireless Lab and fostered the growth of a joint industry/university testbed with a focus on wireless networks. Recently, I have worked in the ONAP/O-RAN Harmonization effort to provide feedback from the ONAP Use Case implementation insights in order to pursue synergies and improve O-RAN Specifications.

At AT&T, I was the lead for developing and deploying the first ONAP-based 5G SON solution in production and have gained first-hand experience in making ONAP ready for production deployment for SON and Radio Access Network (RAN) automation applications. From 2005 to 2008, I was actively engaged with the WiMAX Forum (WMF), where I was successful in building consensus among operators and vendors for innovative global wireless standards. I served on the WMF Board of Directors, and also as Chair of the WMF Service Provider Working Group, and Chair of the WMF X.509 Task Force.

My objective in ONAP since the Casablanca release has been to foster an open ecosystem for ONAP-based solutions for mobile networks. If I have the honor of continuing to serve on the TSC, I will be able to offer a unique viewpoint by combining my broad wireless background, operational ONAP deployment insights, global standards experience, and the perspective of an ecosystem technology provider committed to open platforms. I will work to maximize alignment between ONAP and O-RAN/3GPP and leverage synergies between ONAP and O-RAN OSC. I will also work to improve the maturity of ONAP-based solutions to deploy, manage, and optimize production wireless networks.

I look forward to the opportunity to work in the TSC to serve the ONAP community and foster an open ecosystem.

I am an open-source and standardization manager at Ericsson.

With over 30 years of experience in the telecommunication industry, my work has spanned a multitude of architectures and technologies, reaching from fiberoptic research to network and service automation. I have a long-term engagement in carrier-grade network architecture and am active in a number of standards organizations. 

Since 2019, I have been the ONAP technical community coordinator for generic network management. In that role I have chaired sessions at various LFN summits, conferences, workshops, bilateral meetings and reported to the TSC on SDO activities. I have also handled liaison statements to/from SDOs on behalf of ONAP.

Lately I was chosen to represent ONAP in LFN SPC.

I am committed to the challenge of merging standardization, open source, and R&D ways of working. I strongly believe that open-source collaboration benefits the telecom industry, increasing efficiency, quality, transparency and software craftmanship.

Ericsson has consistently been one of the main contributors to ONAP and is committed to support a vibrant community effort. My colleagues serve as PTLs for four essential projects (CPS, DMaaP, SDC, PF) and vice chair of the Architecture subcommittee.