The tried and true distributed radio access network (RAN) is the standard in mobile architectures. Significant improvements in performance—and reductions in capex and opex—would be required for service providers to consider making substantial changes.
But these are no ordinary times. The exploding popularity of digital video and social networking are driving wireless traffic relentlessly higher. In fact, a recent Cisco VNI study shows that worldwide mobile data traffic is growing at a 57% compound annual rate in the six-year period beginning in 2014.
What began as 2.5 exabytes per month two years ago will reach 24.3 exabytes per month before you know it.
Given this explosion in wireless traffic, C-RAN, the centralized radio access network, provides just the bonuses that make network upgrades a wise investment.
Evolving to a C-RAN architecture makes dollars and sense:
- RAN performance can increase up to 30% through gains in spectral efficiency, cell site aggregation, and scalability.
- Capex can be reduced up to 30% through savings in site acquisition, construction costs, and equipment efficiency.
- Opex can be reduced up to 50% through savings in rent, power consumption, capacity management, and operation and maintenance.
“Mobile operators are increasingly seeking to deploy Cloud RAN architectures for efficiency and performance reasons,” said Gabriel Brown, senior analyst, Heavy Reading. “To disaggregate the radio access network into centralized baseband and distributed RF components requires a fronthaul solution that can meet stringent reliability, scalability, and opex targets.”
A new C-RAN solution from Fujitsu includes a smart WDM system with integrated diagnostics, remote visibility, self-healing functionality, and ultralow latency. The result is fast installation, high service availability, and a dense, scalable architecture that adapts easily to growing demand.
Learn more here.
