Home > Communication Service Provider Solutions > Enabling Telecom Transformation > 5G Disaggregated RAN Performance Benchmarking Insights > Overview
A disaggregated Radio Access Network (RAN) refers to the separation of traditional RAN components into individual, interoperable elements. The disaggregated RAN is an emerging trend in the telecommunications industry and its adoption is gaining momentum. It provides better flexibility, sharing, and scaling resources through virtualization, cloud-native architecture, and cost-effective operations through automation. By separating the hardware and software components of the RAN, Communication Service Providers (CSPs) can combine hardware and software from different vendors, fostering competition and driving innovation. This approach also allows operators to choose the most suitable solutions for their needs, avoiding vendor lock-in. In this paper, disaggregation is used commonly for hardware and base-band software separation.
As the demand for user traffic steadily grows, CSPs are looking for better options to scale up their network affordably, improve control and management, and maintain or enhance service quality for subscribers. Given the direct impact of larger scale on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), a more agile approach is needed for the deployment and Life-Cycle Management (LCM) of RAN components. While the disaggregated RAN is expected to bring more agility and innovation, its price/performance parity with the traditional RAN remains uncertain. Until traditional RAN, the computations of Layer 1 (PHY) and Layer 2 (Schedular) of the Base-Band Unit (BBU) are performed in a custom-built and highly optimized hardware.