Frequency & Microwave
Radio access networks (RAN) - now and future
By Phil Evans, business development director – connectivity at TÜV SÜD H
igh costs, limited flexibility, and constrained vendor choice is prompting mobile network operators to shift away from traditional systems toward more
open, standards-based, software-centric virtual platforms.
As 5G enables faster connections between devices, connectivity is vital. Consequently, an average of 2 GHz of additional mid-band spectrum is needed by 2030. To drive the social and economic advantages that 5G is anticipated to deliver, broadband costs must be reduced and economies of scale delivered by extending mid-band spectrum availability, including 3.5 GHz, 4.8 GHz, and 6 GHz ranges. This will improve mobile broadband and fixed wireless access, and enable the further development of the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 innovation.
Three main points of difference set 5G aside from 4G. These are: ● Speed – 5G is much faster than previous generations of wireless technology with speeds at least 5-10 times faster than those of 4G. This means that large files such as videos can be transferred in seconds rather than minutes, meaning you can stream video on the go without having to worry about buffering. ● Greater capacity – 5G also offers greater capacity, allowing thousands of devices in a small area to be connected at the same time. This is increasingly important as everything in our lives becomes connected, such as cars, clothes, buildings etc. ● Low latency – The reduction in the time between instructing a device to perform an action and that action being completed means that 5G is also more responsive than 4G. 5G enables data to be transmitted and received with virtually no delay. It can therefore support all sorts of time critical services and applications, as well as enhance online gaming experiences and in the future support autonomous vehicles.
5G’s high bandwidth capability enables a greater density of sensors, meaning more data – and with machine learning, greater and quicker insights and analysis. It can therefore deliver many benefits to industries
26 June 2022 and end-users, with some examples below:
● Transport – real-time parking availability, more accurate real-time reporting of traffic problems, monitoring occupancy levels on public transport for dynamic scheduling. ● Manufacturing – sensors improving machinery efficiency, helping businesses securely and quickly transfer data along supply chains. Higher flexibility, lower cost, and shorter lead times for factory floor production reconfiguration, layout changes, and alterations. ● Health & social care – connecting paramedics in real-time with hospital doctors to diagnose conditions more effectively or enable remote surgery.
In the UK the government wants the majority of the population to be covered by a 5G signal by 2027, so that the entire country can benefit from its social and economic advantages. In December 2021 the UK government and UK mobile network operators announced a joint goal for 35 per cent of the UK’s mobile network traffic to be carried over open and interoperable RAN architectures (commonly known as O-RAN) by 2030. The UK government’s 5G Diversification Strategy plans to grow the telecoms supply chain while ensuring it is resilient to future trends and threats. It has three core strands:
Components in Electronics
supporting incumbent suppliers; attracting new suppliers into the UK market; and accelerating the development and deployment of open-interface solutions.
The current RAN architecture comprises a remote radio unit (RRU or RU) at the top of a cell tower that communicates with a baseband unit (BBU) located at the tower’s bottom. While these traditional systems have worked well for mobile network operators, they have drawbacks. For example, making any upgrade or change to the wireless network requires replacing physical hardware throughout the network - a costly, manual, and time- consuming process.
As mobile network operators must replace or upscale existing equipment to deliver 5G services, this gives them the opportunity to adopt O-RAN architectures. The O-RAN uses proprietary hardware and vendor-defined communication interfaces, and its software- driven functionality is tightly integrated inside the hardware. However, proprietary equipment locks operators into existing relationships with the vendor that originally supplied them. Virtualising the ORAN and replacing proprietary interfaces with standards- based interfaces enables equipment interoperability and multivendor O-RAN deployments. This gives network operators more flexibility to pick and choose among
best-of-breed solution providers. By opening the market, currently dominated by a handful of vendors, to new suppliers, ORAN can not only lower costs but also prompt greater innovation through competition, as well as allow operators to avoid restricted vendors. One of the most compelling value propositions of O-RAN architectures is in their potential to lower the total cost of ownership of networks. By allowing operators to aggregate baseband functionality using a single virtualised BBU to support multiple radios, O-RAN reduces overall hardware cost and enables a smaller, simpler, and more energy-efficient installation footprint. Also, as they allow operators to use software to push out network functions and intelligent automation, virtual architectures can speed the roll-out of new services, instead of having to rip out and replace whole physical systems.
Virtual architectures can also “future- proof” investments in the physical network. The ability to change out individual O-RAN components with off-the-shelf hardware from any vendor can improve flexibility as well as reduce costs and downtime for system scaling and maintenance.
www.tuvsud.com/uk
www.cieonline.co.uk
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