Near-RT RIC and Emulated Basestation for Initial xApps Development

The development of xApps for telecommunications systems is a new and open field. With the growing demand for new functionalities and the need for integration with the near Real-Time Radio Intelligent Controller (Near-RT RIC) systems and emulated base stations, it is essential to understand the challenges and opportunities involved in this process. In this context, we describe a virtualized and automated 5G environment using containers, which aims to support the whole development cycle of xApps.