Adaptive mMIMO Control in OPEN RAN: A Dynamic xApp Approach for Energy-Efficient Antenna Management

This paper presents the development of a novel xApp designed to control mMIMO variables within the OPEN RAN framework. Despite the growing adoption of OPEN RAN, existing solutions lack efficient mechanisms to dynamically adjust mMIMO configurations, highlighting a critical research gap. To address this, we propose an xApp-based algorithm that fetches RAN KPIs to adjust mMIMO parameters and enhance energy efficiency. The proposed solution is validated using the TeraVM AI RSG, VIAVI RIC Tester, Emulator, demonstrating a significant reduction in energy consumption while maintaining optimal network performance. Our findings underscore the potential of xApps in enabling intelligent and energy-efficient mMIMO operations within 5G and 6G networks.