Cobham Wireless is now ready to support both C-RAN and vRAN architectures. This vRAN approach replaces baseband units (BBUs) with the use of commercial off-the-shelf technology and virtualised software, which are hosted in a flexible, data centre environment. With less proprietary hardware and lower energy consumption, the idDAS/vRAN integration produces a cost- and energy-efficient, 5G-ready solution.

This architecture can also be scaled and supports plug-and-play expanded network coverage. The solution offers dynamic management of resources for in-building cellular coverage, supporting current 3G and 4G standards, whilst being upgradable to 5G further down the line.

“Operators are facing a capacity challenge, and with more people using high-bandwidth services and the number of IoT applications growing, this will only increase,” says Cobham’s  Rami Hasarchi, “virtualising the RAN for in-building coverage offers the ideal solution to this problem, maximising spectrum efficiency and end-user experience, while vastly reducing running costs. Integrating vRAN capabilities into our idDAS is an exciting step forward on the road to 5G, delivering flexibility to operators and enterprises, and a means of future-proofing their businesses.”