Sharing Cellular Radio Units Across Multiple Mobile Network Operators
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Solution Overview
Problem
Enterprise organizations face challenges in building cost-effective and efficient private LTE or 5G wireless networks due to the high costs associated with acquiring and maintaining radio hardware, spectrum, and physical infrastructure, particularly in shared frequency bands like CBRS.
Innovation Solution
A system that electronically offers the functionality of a cellular wireless telecommunication network radio unit (RU) as a service, allowing multiple mobile network operators to share radio hardware, including amplifiers, filters, A/D converters, wiring, antennas, and base-station towers, using shared spectrum bands, enabling them to build and operate their networks without owning any hardware or infrastructure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If enterprise organizations build their own private LTE or 5G wireless networks with dedicated radio hardware, then network reliability and performance are improved, but cost and device complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The shared radio access network architecture enables a single RU to serve multiple enterprise organizations simultaneously through virtualization. The RU provides universal access to radio hardware resources (amplifiers, filters, A/D converters, antennas, base-station towers) for multiple MNOs, eliminating the need for each organization to deploy dedicated hardware while maintaining network reliability through isolated logical connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of network functionality through virtual radio units (vRUs) that run software instances on shared physical hardware. Each enterprise organization receives a virtualized copy of the radio unit functionality, allowing them to operate independent network instances without physical hardware duplication, thus reducing device complexity while preserving reliability through virtual isolation.
2Productivity
If enterprise organizations acquire dedicated radio hardware and infrastructure, then network performance is improved, but cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple enterprise network operations into a single shared radio access network infrastructure. Multiple MNOs combine their radio hardware requirements into one physical RU deployment, sharing amplifiers, filters, A/D converters, wiring, antennas, and base-station towers. This consolidation maintains network performance through dedicated logical channels while dramatically reducing the quantity of physical hardware and associated costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The shared RU provides universal access to radio hardware resources for multiple MNOs simultaneously. The same physical infrastructure serves multiple enterprises with different network requirements, optimizing resource utilization and eliminating redundant hardware investments while maintaining network performance through virtualized service isolation.
3Productivity
If multiple mobile network operators share the same radio hardware, then cost-effectiveness and efficiency are improved, but potential interference and reliability issues may worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the shared radio hardware into isolated virtual radio units (vRUs), with each MNO receiving dedicated virtual instances of radio functionality. The RU manager divides physical hardware resources into separate virtual channels, ensuring that each enterprise's network traffic is logically isolated. This segmentation prevents interference between MNOs while maintaining cost-effectiveness through shared physical infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The RU manager acts as an intermediary between multiple MNOs and the shared radio hardware. It mediates resource allocation, manages virtualization instances, and ensures proper isolation between MNOs. The RU manager coordinates spectrum usage and prevents interference by acting as a central control point that manages all access to the shared physical infrastructure, thereby maintaining reliability while enabling cost-effective sharing.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments include systems and methods for sharing a cellular wireless telecommunication network radio unit (RU) by multiple different mobile network operators (MNOs). The system causes the functionality of the RU to be concurrently provided as a service to a plurality of different MNOs which may also use shared spectrum frequency bands. Thus, such a system enables the MNO to build and operate its cellular wireless telecommunication network without any radio hardware other than that provided by the RU, and without owning any hardware, radio spectrum and physical infrastructure.