COSMO: O-RAN-Based Service Management and Orchestration for Cross-Technology Multi-Tenant Radio Access Networks

Abstract: The evolution toward 6G networks envisions a heterogeneous Radio Access Network (RAN) comprising diverse access technologies, such as private 5G, public 4G/5G, and Wi-Fi, managed by multiple stakeholders. While considerable research effort has been devoted to O-RAN-based frameworks enabling rApp and xApp implementation and validation, few works provide integrated support for cross-technology RAN orchestration, end-to-end multi-tenancy, and a unified subset of SMO functionalities, including Non-RT RIC components. This paper introduces COSMO, a novel RAN Service Management and Orchestration platform designed to support heterogeneous 3GPP (5G NR, LTE) and non-3GPP (Wi-Fi) access networks. COSMO enables cross-technology multi-tenancy, defined as the capability to allow multiple tenants to dynamically share heterogeneous RAN resources with explicit resource allocation guarantees based on Service Level Agreements (SLAs). This is achieved through management primitives that support flexible and on-demand resource allocation. Additionally, the platform includes a cross-technology Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller (Non-RT RIC) that enables the development of intelligent rApps for closed-loop control and network orchestration. Beyond its architectural design, COSMO improves resource utilization and operational flexibility through unified orchestration of heterogeneous multi-tenant RAN resources. Through prototyping and benchmarking, we demonstrate the effectiveness of COSMO in resource allocation, SLA enforcement, and scalability. In our prototype, the SLA-based rApp reduces SLA violation from approximately 21% to below 10% under dynamic traffic conditions in a heterogeneous RAN deployment including 5G, 4G, and Wi-Fi access networks. Our results confirm that COSMO offers an efficient solution for managing and orchestrating future multi-tenant cross-technology RAN environments.