Show Notes
Virtualized RAN, or vRAN, is a highly complex topic, and there’s a lot of confusion about what it means in the context of 5G. On this episode of Recalibrate, we break it all down, highlighting vRAN’s use cases, benefits, and role in our collective 5G future. vRAN is a virtualized radio access network and is seen as the next step in the evolution of cellular networks and specifically advancing 5G. Essentially, it’s taking previously hardware-driven functions and making them virtualized or software-based. Think about the transition that took place in IT networks. Like those shifts, many operators are looking to move toward a more software-based network to become more flexible in management, services and feature introduction. vRAN moves the controller functions of today’s hardware base stations to centralized servers or closer to the edge of a network, allowing Mobile Network Operators, or MNOs, to pool and adjust radio resources to better accommodate for user traffic. vRAN can effectively support low-latency and new, highly available services, works on options other than expanding fiber connections where necessary, and brings along fewer operational and maintenance headaches than you might realize. Today’s future-proof, 4G vRAN solutions are ready to deliver in the 5G world and provide the connectivity and performance users will come to expect from ever-evolving networks, and host Tyler Kern and guest Derek Johnston took this opportunity to dive into exactly how that rollout will occur. Networks TechTalk podcast was previously named Recalibrate with Samsung Networks.
More from Networks TechTalk with Samsung
Wireless networks are going through a paradigm shift with the emergence of Open RAN. This new approach to architecting a multi-vendor network fosters innovation, agility, and cost efficiency in deploying and operating 5G networks. More importantly, it serves users better and faster than ever. However, there are mixed opinions in the industry and varied approaches to materializing the vision of Open RAN.
Fixed Wireless Access, or FWA, has emerged as a powerful enabler in the mobile landscape and is one method being used to fulfill the growing user demand for data. FWA is another offering to provide high-speed internet access to homes, businesses, and remote areas without relying on traditional wired connections like fiber or cable lines for the ‘last mile’ of connectivity. The demand for FWA itself among broadband users is growing with analyst firms expecting FWA users to reach 14-18 million in 2027 in the United States.
With much of the world standing on the brink of mainstream 5G usage, operators are looking for ways to extract maximum value from their network investments – essentially trying to figure out how to monetize 5G. Operators have spent the past few years on things like spectrum, working to increase base stations needed for sufficient coverage and capacity, and implementing new software tools that allow for autonomous networks and faster delivery of services and upgrades. Providers are now starting to take advantage of the high-speed, low-latency, and connectivity capacities that 5G brings to the market.
5G is the first wireless technology designed to be energy efficient and sustainable with an industry target of 90% improvement in spectral efficiency compared to 4G. This improvement, in large part, also requires energy efficiency in the equipment. Operators and vendors have devised several features to accomplish this goal including increasing spectrum bands supported in a single radio and Massive MIMO antenna capacity, beamforming, and an increasing the use of high-band frequencies. Samsung works to ensure our product experience at every step contributes to a sustainable world with eco-conscious technology and innovation. Samsung is a pioneer in vRAN, being the first to bring vRAN to market with software driven network functions to make networks more flexible and reduce processing and transmit power. Samsung is also helping to address energy efficiency with Power Amplifiers equipped with a Bias Control, dynamic download MIMO transmit paths, and with its low power, energy saving system-on-a-chip (SoC). With global mobile data traffic rates continuing to rise and applications requiring low-latency proliferating, networks will continue to densify, and the number of cell sites grow exponentially. Despite this, telecommunications industry is committed to finding ways to bring down the amount of power used and lowering our carbon footprint to run our networks. We are all excited to see the power saving techniques and features we’ve discussed today continue to advance around the globe. Watch and listen to this Networks Tech Talk episode to learn more about how Samsung and the telecommunications industry are investing in energy saving innovations and technologies.
Virtual Radio Access Networks, or vRAN, are the future of the radio access side of mobile operators’ networks. vRAN is software that runs on off-the-shelf servers rather than the proprietary, dedicated hardware that mobile network providers have been running for decades.