As I received many messages during the last week about the eCPRI topic in 5G and OpenRAN, I prepared some notes about this. eCPRI is replacing the CPRI protocol in 5G to reduce the bandwidth BW requirements of CPRI transport and making Fronthaul affordable and available for all mobile network operators. It improves transport efficiency to match the Speed and […]

There’re many factors that impact the energy consumption in the mobile network operators, some of them related to climate, population density, and data consumption levels, while others are related to the network operators themselves or under its control. So there’re two groups as per GSMA benchmarking: Non-network-related variables – those outside the operator’s control (e.g. […]

Security is a driving factor in how 5G networks are built and operated – every element of a 5G network is required to have security controls in place for the purpose of delivering confidentiality, integrity, and availability so that the network can provide users with a secure communications platform. What is HSM? ​HSM (Hardware Security […]

Recently, I received many questions and inquiries about the meaning of Roaming and some interesting questions: What is Roaming? What is the difference between National Roaming and International Roaming? First, all of us know that mobile communication networks and services have become an integral part of everyday life. People are now more and more reliant […]

RAN (Radio Access Network) is the main telecommunication network component that is located between the core network and users’ equipment (such as a mobile phone). RAN is constituted of a Radio Unit (RU), which is the antenna visible on top of a cell tower, and a Baseband Unit (BBU), a set of devices linking the […]

3GPP defined a new RAN architectural in Release 15, where the gNB (Site Name for 5G) is logically split into three entities denoted as: CU: Centralized Unit. DU: Distributed Unit. RRU: Remote Radio Unit. The RAN functions that correspond to each of the three entities are determined by the so-called split points. After a thorough […]

In order to meet the 5G network timing requirements, there is a significant challenge. The challenge is 5G performance requirements driving precise timing needs from cloud to edge. The legacy proprietary solutions rely on high-cost, purpose-built appliances, and specialized network interface cards. 5G deployments demand high timing synchronization across the network and affordable infrastructure costs. […]

The architecture of eNB or gNB with O-DU and O-RUs has some important definitions here: O-DU: O-RAN Distributed Unit: a logical node hosting RLC/MAC/High-PHY layers based on a lower layer functional split. O-RU: O-RAN Radio Unit: a logical node hosting the Low-PHY layer and RF processing based on a lower layer functional split. LLS: Lower […]

What is PTP? Precision Time Protocol (PTP), defined in the IEEE1588-2008 standard, is a protocol that uses a master-slave hierarchy to synchronize clocks on network devices. PTP uses hardware time stamping to achieve submicrosecond synchronization. PTP defines how real-time clocks in a network synchronize with each other. A network where PTP operates is called a […]

First, to understand the function of the fronthaul M-Plane, let’s remember the Fronthaul Planes, Please read this and continue.  What are C/U/M/S Fronthaul (FH) Planes in ORAN ? What is the M-Plane?  Management Plane: refers to non-real-time management operations between the O-DU and the O-RU like:  Performance Management (PM). Configuration Management (CM). Fault Management (FM). […]

The Call Session Control function (CSCF) is the heart of the IMS architecture and is used to process SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) signaling. The main function of the CSCF is to provide session control for terminals and applications using the IMS network. Session control includes: The secure routing of the SIP messages. Monitoring of the […]