In the early 90s, the GSM standard was introduced in Europe with an important carrier-side investment in order to deliver a digital service to the home user. Back then there was no functionality bundling in contrast to the actual terminals. Call functionality, camera, video, GPS, Internet access, etc. were distributed through different devices. Currently, the prior service integration into a single mobile device, along with the technology diffusion to the overall population, involved a greater requirement on quality of service, bandwidth and coverage, forcing operators to optimize the resource usage with a long-term vision. One of the study objects within this long haul technological evolution is the infrastructure adaptation to accommodate the next generation of standards, which promise improved performance and efficiency. However, current operator infrastructure may not be designed to, nor prepared for this purpose, suggesting replacing them again. Given this need arise the concepts of SDR (Software Defined Radio) and C-RAN (Cloud Radio Access Network). The former is a versatile solution in the hardware area, while the latter a promising key to aid with network dimensioning and resource optimization. This project examines and evaluates the use of OpenAirInterface platform, a software solution based on SDR, to implement a LTE base station, with the possibility of splitting the different entities of the architecture (C-RAN), and using for this purpose low-cost portable devices.
A principios de la década de los 90 se introdujo el estándar GSM en Europa, con una fuerte inversión por parte de las operadoras para ofrecer un servicio digital al usuario doméstico. Entonces no existían la agrupación de funcionalidades que hoy disfrutamos en los terminales. Las funcionalidades de llamadas, cámara, video, GPS, acceso a internet, etc. estaban distribuidas en diferentes dispositivos. Actualmente, la unificación de los aparatos anteriores en el terminal móvil y la introducción de la tecnología a gran parte de la población han implicado un mayor requerimiento en calidad de servicio, ancho de banda y cobertura, lo que obliga a las operadoras a optimizar la explotación de los diferentes servicios con una visión a largo plazo. Uno de los objetos de estudio de esta evolución tecnológica continuada en el tiempo es la adecuación de la infraestructura para adaptarse a los estándares de la próxima generación, los cuales prometen una mejora en rendimiento y eficiencia. Sin embargo, los equipos operativos que las operadoras poseen actualmente pueden no estar diseñados ni preparados para este fin, y ello implica la necesidad de volver a reemplazarlos. Ante esta necesidad nacen los conceptos de SDR (Software Defined Radio) y C-RAN (Cloud Radio Access Network). El primero es una solución para proporcionar versatilidad al equipo hardware, y el segundo para facilitar el dimensionado de la red y optimizar recursos según demanda. Este proyecto estudia y evalúa el uso de la plataforma OpenAirInterface, solución basada en SDR para implementar una estación base de telefonía LTE, con la posibilidad de separar las diferentes entidades de la arquitectura (C-RAN). Utilizando para ello dispositivos portátiles de bajo coste.
In the early 90s, the GSM standard was introduced in Europe with an important carrier-side investment in order to deliver a digital service to the home user. Back then there was no functionality bundling in contrast to the actual terminals. Call functionality, camera, video, GPS, Internet access, etc. were distributed through different devices. Currently, the prior service integration into a single mobile device, along with the technology diffusion to the overall population, involved a greater requirement on quality of service, bandwidth and coverage, forcing operators to optimize the resource usage with a long-term vision. One of the study objects within this long haul technological evolution is the infrastructure adaptation to accommodate the next generation of standards, which promise improved performance and efficiency. However, current operator infrastructure may not be designed to, nor prepared for this purpose, suggesting replacing them again. Given this need arise the concepts of SDR (Software Defined Radio) and C-RAN (Cloud Radio Access Network). The former is a versatile solution in the hardware area, while the latter a promising key to aid with network dimensioning and resource optimization. This project examines and evaluates the use of OpenAirInterface platform, a software solution based on SDR, to implement a LTE base station, with the possibility of splitting the different entities of the architecture (C-RAN), and using for this purpose low-cost portable devices.
