An interesting report from Omdia regarding ” Market Landscape: RAN Vendors 2024 “ The report is only for RAN Hardware and Software for macro base stations and small cells. Open RAN and vRAN are considered under the portfolio dimension, but they have no impact on the business performance dimension. Omdia does not suggest that open […]

Virtualization is a journey that the telecoms industry has been on for several years to transform network functions into virtual network functions (VNFs). The VNF software is then decoupled from the purpose-built hardware and run on standardized, common off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. The interfaces between each component in such a setup may still be closed or proprietary. […]

When we’re discussing vRAN and Open RAN topics, we’ll find ourselves facing some questions about the performance and cost. The highly common question is ” Can virtualized RAN deliver the same performance as traditional RAN? ” I see it’s a valid and logical question especially since no one will invest with at least a guaranteed […]

3GPP consists of three Technical Specifications Groups (TSGs) where TSG RAN (Radio Access Network) is responsible for the definition of functions, requirements, and interfaces of the Radio Access. TSG RAN consists of six working groups (WGs): RAN WG1, dealing with the physical layer specifications. RAN WG2, dealing with the layer 2 and layer 3 radio […]

First, We need to know that the most important functional components introduced by O-RAN are the non-real-time (non-RT) radio intelligent controller (RIC) and the near-RT RIC. While the former is hosted by the service management and orchestration (SMO) framework of the system (e.g., integrated within ONAP), the latter may be co-located with 3GPP gNB functions, […]

As per 3GPP, The gNB is divided into two logical functions: the CU and DU. The DU is the baseband unit in a 5G RAN. It handles layer 1 and layer 2 processing and fulfills critical functions such as coding/decoding, scheduling, MIMO processing, and beamforming. It makes sub-millisecond decisions about allocating radio resources within a […]

There are different acronyms related to the evolution of RAN (Radio Access Network), like vRAN, open RAN, O-RAN, etc.  A key point to clarify is that RAN evolution means both the disaggregation of mobile network base stations into more standardized entities (this is widely known as functional split), as well as the introduction of cloud […]

If we’re talking about RAN Market Status, The mobile RAN equipment market (covering active base station equipment and antennas, but excluding power supplies, cable, install costs, civils, passive antennas, etc.) was worth about $33 billion in 2019, according to Omdia, and is forecast to grow to $36 billion in 2023.  So the R&D in different […]

The device connects over the Radio Access Network (RAN), which defines and manages the radio link between the customer device and the rest of the network. The RAN comprises cellular base stations (BTS in 2G, NodeB in 3G,eNodeB in 4G, and gNB in 5G), wired or wireless links, and a baseband unit that processes the […]

Why do MNOs struggle to shift to Open RAN? I know many MNOs are struggling to shift their RAN strategy to OpenRAN in their 5G Roadmap due to many reasons like they can not get away from their monolithic supply chain from the big vendors. Also, there’re some interfaces that are still NOT open even if these […]

In the cellular network, RAN provides wide-area wireless connectivity to mobile devices. Towards this end, it conducts two fundamental tasks: It converts IP packets to Physical Layer packets suitable for transmission over the time-varying mobile channel using packet and signal processing techniques. It conducts Radio Resource Management (RRM) control to determine how best to use […]