There are over 800 service providers, but market power favors a handful of radio access network (RAN) vendors who dictate the tempo of technology. With the RAN accounting for around 60% of the network total cost of ownership, open RAN promises to change the balance of power in favor of services providers by reducing vendor power through more… Read More »
Radio access networks have many descriptors that confuse the non-specialists. This includes open, virtual, cloud, centralized, distributed and cooperative RAN. Confusion is understandable because there are many inter-related aspects. Here, I outline the fundamentals elements that define RAN types and clarify the nomenclature. The Three Pillars of RAN Architecture, implementation and deployment are the three elements that define… Read More »