European consortium provides super fast 5G data link (Fronthaul)

A consortium of telecommunications companies and academic institutions from the University of Kent conducted a 5G test on the front of the mobile network. The group was able to demonstrate a data transfer rate of 5 Gb / s. Fronthaul is a wireless signal delivery between a remote radio head or antenna and base station terminals, often called baseband units (BBUs). As part of the University of Kent process, the test was part of the Intelligent Converged Network Consolidating Radio and Optic Access Around User Equipment (iCIRRUS) project, which is funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 program, a public and private research program worth over $ 89.8 billion in funding . The operators of Telekom Slovenije, Orange from France and Primetel from Cyprus took part in the test. It also includes the ADVA Optical Networking, Viavi Solutions, Henrich Hertze Institute and IAF suppliers from Germany and the provider of cloud services Wellness Telecom from Spain. During the test, iCIRRUS members were able to demonstrate a data transfer rate of 100 Gb / s in the front lane network. This allowed companies to provide a 5 Gb / s data speed from users' end devices using a 5G network that was backwards compatible with 4G LTE. What is iCIRRUS? The iCIRRUS project deals in particular with the use of RAN (C-RAN) cloud and communication between devices to create a high-bandwidth network with low-latency services. The Group is also looking for ways to reduce the costs associated with sending and transmitting data over Ethernet and virtual networks in front networks, BBUs and remote radio heads. Interestingly, ICIRRUS goals sound a bit similar to the goals of the PON Broadband Forum project. This project, developed at the request of the Japanese NTT service provider, is exploring the use of network function virtualization (NFV) and software network (SDN) to disaggregate PON functions and use open interfaces. Thanks to PON virtualization, operators could make 5G fronthaul and 5G backhaul more profitable.