Cloud RAN with a Chance of Virtualization
Cloud RAN with a Chance of Virtualization
Key Takeaways from the RAN USA Conference 2016
02/09/2016 | 14 pages
In this Signals Flash! report we provide a synopsis of the RAN World 2016 event that we attended in San Francisco in late January.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
C-RAN – Lovers and Skeptics. Like certain polarizing political figures, you either love “the C-RAN” or you are strongly skeptical. For those that have dared to give it a try, they have cast their votes in its favor while others are still caucusing amongst themselves and waiting to make a decision.
All choked up over the Fronthaul. The fly in the ointment for C-RAN is the fronthaul, or the pipe between the baseband functionality and the remote radio head. Despite the promises from more than a decade ago, CPRI isn’t living up to expectations and its days are probably numbered.
Looking ahead to what comes next. With more advanced antenna schemes and far fatter pipes, the next-generation air interface will make things even more problematic. Fortunately, potential solutions are in the works.
Random Thoughts. We throw in some tidbits from other presentations, plus provide a few updates from our last Signals Ahead report on the 3GPP family of CIoT standards.