Coaxial Networks for 5G Fronthaul

Abstract

In this paper, we present an investigation about the potential of coaxial networks for 5G fronthaul. The study is motivated since some countries have a big coaxial infrastructure that could potentially be used for 5G applications. In this context, we propose here a fronthaul scheme with analog radio over coaxial cables and evaluate the maximum number of antennas that can be employed in such a system assuming a predefined signal-to-noise ratio condition. The results indicate that this solution is able to meet the high capacity requirements of 5G, with the additional benefits of low latency and low cost.