A Millimeter Wave Fronthauling Solution for Open RAN Paradigm in 5G and Beyond Networks

Abstract

Radio access networks (RAN) are going through a paradigm shift by introducing disaggregation towards 5G and beyond (B5G) for providing customer support in the terminal of the wireless networks. Recently, several efforts are running on implementing open RAN (O-RAN) architecture introduced by O-RAN allinace. The fronthaul link between distributed unit (DU) and radio unit (RU) needs high capacity solutions for upcoming traffic demands emerged from new applications and use cases. Millimeter wave (mmWave) technology is considered as a high capacity solutions from last couple of years in the wireless domain for its enormous bandwidth but still faces challenges for channel modeling due to its inherent characteristics of absorption and path loss. In this research, mmWave fronthauling in an O-RAN architecture has been considered with flexible reconfigured RU states with movable DU placements. Human obstruction has a drastic effect on mmWave links. Thus, it has been studied briefly in this scenario considering different mmWave bands (28 GHz, 60 GHz, and 73 GHz). The received power variation along with channel capacity and path loss have been investigated with respect to several RUs and DUs separation distance. These investigations may be utilized to demonstrate the potential of using mmWave bands and its suitability in fronthauling design for future B5G networks.