Disaggregation of BBU in an Open Ran Architecture

Since the earliest phases of 5G New Radio (NR), there’s been a push to disaggregate the BBU. This is done by breaking off functions beyond the Radio Unit (RU) into Distributed Units (DUs) and Centralized Units (CUs). One of the most significant steps towards this has been the development of Open Ran Architecture. Consequently, it supports more flexibility and interoperability across network elements. The argument for disaggregation was flexibility, and Open Ran Architecture reflects this concept well. This approach lets network operators decide how to locate these functions. As a result, they can maximize performance. Additionally, flexible hardware and software implementations allow scalable, cost-effective network deployments.

Because the disaggregation option will give you opportunity to choose which protocol resides within each function, Open Ran Architecture makes this possible. This is how the Open Ran is constructed.

DU contains some real time baseband processing unit. It is near from radio unit as you see here. Meanwhile, CU is used mainly for non real time. Open Ran Architecture separates these functionalities for better control.

When the RAN is opened up horizontally, it could bring in a new range of low-cost radio players. At the same time, it gives mobile operators a choice to optimize deployment options for specific performance requirements. This can happen at much better cost.