[Courtesy of LG Uplus]
The small cell base station has a narrower coverage than macro cells, but it is easy to install and effective in improving indoor quality. LG Uplus (LGU+) said It has implemented basic mobile communication functions such as Handover to provide uninterrupted services while traveling. Handover is a core element in deploying mobile transmission as it creates data sessions or connects phone calls between mobile devices which are constantly on the move.
RAN resides between a device such as a mobile phone, a computer, or any remotely controlled machine and provides connections with its core network. The Open RAN (O-RAN or ORAN) Alliance is a global carrier-led effort to drive new levels of openness in RANs by separating the hardware and software of wireless communication equipment and linking equipment made by different manufacturers.
"The small cell field trial was able to verify the completeness of equipment required for O-RAN commercialization by verifying basic mobile communication functions in the field," Lee Sang-hun, head of LGU+'s network development division, said in a statement on September 27.
LGU+ has built an end-to-end in-building solution in its office building in Seoul, including small cell antennas and base station software from Airspan Networks, an American telecom, and 5G core network software from Druid Software, a core cellular network software company based in Ireland.
LGU+ would check the possibility of commercialization by linking ORAN equipment and commercial equipment. Ciena was in charge of system integration and supplied an edge server in the form of a "one box" that can simultaneously mount core network software and an ORAN distribution and concentration device.