Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1066130
36 I ICT TODAY 6 C-RAN Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) is essentially a centralized network topology for wireless carrier baseband units. These baseband units are the critical piece of the cellular network that processes the RF signals and delivers them to the transmitting radios (i.e., RRH or remote radio heads) and then to and from mobile devices. Today, the typical configuration of a DAS and associated carrier baseband/RRH units requires significant space, power and capital to account for all the equipment. With C-RAN, network operators can reduce operating costs, while also reducing the capital spent on real estate leases by putting baseband equipment in a centralized, off-premise space. Because only RRHs are being installed in the served building, much less space is needed by carriers in the head-end room. An additional benefit of C-RAN is that it gives the carriers the ability to share their baseband units between multiple buildings and to shift their network's capacity to where it is needed. In the future, OEMS will develop cloud-RAN solutions where virtualized servers and software drive down further the overall cost and complexity of in-building networks. C-RAN is an attractive solution that will allow users to have increased wireless coverage and capacity inside their building at lower overall costs. CARRIER NETWORK BASEBAND UNITS (Offsite) RRH UNITS RRH UNITS Fronthaul Backhaul FIGURE 3: An example of a C-RAN architecture.