Next-generation wireless "C-RAN," CLOUD- Radio Access Network

                  C-RAN stands for Cloud RAN (radio access network) as well as the less catchy Centralized RAN. In either case, C-RAN leverages distributed base station architecture to enable a host of benefits, such as capex and opex savings, increased asset utilization, and savings on energy.

               One of the hottest industry acronyms these days is C-RAN, which is dominating the advanced wireless markets of Asia, where fiber is abundant and high population densities make the architecture fiscally beneficial. But proponents of the technology believe it could eventually spread across the globe

  New Approach: Sensing possibilities to broaden its influence and market share, Intel has been involved in C-RAN since it was first conceived and is the only major chip maker supporting the technology. The company began working with KT during the fall of 2010 as the South Korean operator drew up plans for its Cloud Communications Center (CCC) architecture.
This was a precursor to C-RAN work that Intel began with China Mobile the following spring. China Mobile has conducted numerous C-RAN trials and is expected to deploy C-RAN on its commercial networks between 2015 and 2016, according to ABI. Intel has also worked with SK Telecom--which announced a virtualized RAN structure called SCAN, for Smart Cloud Access Network--during October 2013.

               Intel and other C-RAN supporters cite numerous advantages from the architecture. According to Sandra Rivera, director of Intel's market development, communications and storage infrastructure group, China Mobile has estimated a 30-60 percent savings in total cost of ownership from C-RAN architecture.

            The figure is closer to 30 percent if an operator does not have much fiber and needs to deploy it to support the C-RAN, Rivera noted. But an operator with a substantial fiber footprint can generate 60 percent savings by deploying C-RAN.

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About Sridhar Mahendrakar

Its my passion to explore myself with new ideas and i love to write; a compulsion; something that gives me an avenue to express myself. I write when I am happy; when I am sad or when an issue touches my heart.