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Glossary

Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
3
3GPP

3rd Generation Partnership Project

 

A mobile communications industry collaboration that organizes the development and management of mobile communications standards. With respect to 5G, 3GPP is managing the evolving 5G standards.

 

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B
Backhaul

The part of the network responsible for transporting communication data between the baseband unit (BBU) and the core network. 

 

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C
CU

Central Unit

 

CU stands for Central Unit, which is a component of the 5G mobile communications standard. It provides centralized processing and control functions for the component of the 5G radio access network.

 

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D
DU

Distributed Unit 

 

DU stands for Distributed Unit. It is a component of the 5G mobile communications standard that provides the radio processing and control functions for the component of the 5G radio access network.

 

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E
E-UTRAN

Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network

 

E-UTRAN (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network) is a new radio interface specified by the 3GPP consortium that was introduced in 2008 with LTE.

 

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EN-DC

E-UTRAN New Radio

 

EN-DC (Evolved Non-standalone Dual Connectivity) is a feature of 5G mobile networks that allows for simultaneous 4G LTE and 5G NR connectivity, prescribed by 3GPP Release 15.

 

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eNB

Evolved Node B or eNodeB

 

An eNB (Evolved Node B) is a type of cellular base station used in LTE (Long-Term Evolution) networks.

 

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EPC

Evolved Packet Core

 

EPC (Evolved Packet Core) is the core network of the LTE (Long-Term Evolution) mobile communications standard.

 

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F
FDD

Frequency division duplex

 

Using two different radio frequencies for transmitter and receiver operation to establish a full-duplex communications link.

 

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Fronthaul

Refers to links in the O-RAN that connect radio equipment at the tower with DU. Fronthaul data is generally transported over fiber optics using the eCPRI (evolved common public radio interface) standard.

 

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G
gNB

gNodeB

 

The gNB stands for Next Generation Node B and is a component of the 5G mobile communication standard.

 

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M
MIMO

An antenna diversity technique using multiple antennas on both the transmit side and receive side to take advantage of multi-path propagation and improve the quality and reliability of wireless communication.

 

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N
Near-RT RIC

O-RAN Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller

 

The Near-RT RIC (Near-Real-Time Remote Intervention Control) is a 5G technology that provides efficient control and optimization of network functions and services in real-time or near-real-time through fine-grained data collection and actions.

 

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NG-RAN

Next Generation Radio Access Network

 

The NG-RAN is responsible for transmitting and receiving data between the LTE device and the core network and is connected to the 5GC (5G Core) via the NG interface. It provides a scalable and flexible solution for the increasing demand for mobile broadband services.

 

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Non-RT RIC

O-RAN Non-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller

 

The Non-RT RIC (Non-Real-Time Remote Intervention Control) is a component in the 5G network architecture that provides control of network functions and services.

 

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Numerology

Refers to how cellular communications waveforms are created based on underlying structures.

 

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O
O-Cloud

O-Cloud

 

A cloud computing platform that comprises a collection of physical infrastructure nodes that meet O-RAN requirements to host the relevant O-RAN functions.

 

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O-CU

O-RAN Central Unit

 

The O-CU is a logical node in the 5G network architecture that provides centralized control and management functions for the network.

 

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O-CU-CP

O-RAN Central Unit Control Plane

 

O-CU-CP stands for Operations and Control Unit Control Plane it is a logical RAN node in a 5G network that provides centralized control and management of network operations.

 

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O-CU-UP

O-RAN Central Unit User Plane 

 

a logical RAN node with the same functionality as (en-)gNB-CU-UP, except that it can also terminate the E2 interface to the near-RT RIC.

 

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O-DU

O-RAN Distributed Unit

 

a logical RAN node hosting RLC, MAC and High-PHY layers, based on a lower layer functional distribution defined by O-RAN (Open FH).

 

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O-RU

O-RAN Radio Unit

 

a logical RAN node that hosts the low-PHY layer and RF processing based on a lower layer functional partitioning defined by O-RAN (Open FH) and terminates the Uu interface to the UE.

 

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R
RACH

Random access channel

 

A channel shared among wireless devices to access the mobile network for call setup and data transmission bursts such as text messages.

 

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RIC

O-RAN ALLIANCE’s RAN architecture defines a function called RAN Intelligence Controller (RIC), RIC is a logical node for realizing intelligent network operations utilizing AI / ML.

 

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S
SMO

Service Management and Orchestration System

 

it provides management functionalities such as fault monitoring, performance assurance, trace, file, SW management, communication monitoring, PNF handling (start-up, registration, ...), VNF handling (instantiation, termination, scaling, ...).

 

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T
TDD

Time division duplex

 

Duplex communication where the uplink is separated from downlink by different time slots in the same frequency band.

 

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U
UE

User equipment 

 

A subscriber’s mobile device, such as a cell phone, tablet, or modem.

 

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UPF

User plane function 

 

The 5G equivalent of the packet gateway in a 4G LTE network.

 

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X
xApp

An xApp is a software tool used by a RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) to manage network functions in near-real time.

 

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Abbreviations

5GC
5G Core network - a logical node that hosts the CN functionalities for the 5GS [23501].
5GS
5G system - consisting of NG-RAN and 5GC
BBU
BaseBand Unit - a logical RAN node seen as an aggregation of O-CU and O-DU functions. The internal interfaces within a BBU do not have to be implemented as Open Interfaces, but can be implemented proprietarily.