Optical fiber is the required technology for Radio Access Network (RAN) backhaul and fronthaul. We report the evolution of RAN equipment including the advent of virtualization and an investigation of the required architecture and optical access technologies.

A real-time transmission of a new functional split fronthaul interface over PtP and PtMP optical access networks is experimentally demonstrated. The data traffic evolution is investigated as well as the impact of latency and packet loss.

Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) and Fixed Mobile Convergence (FMC) receive a lot of attention recently because of the cost decrease and the performance improvement that they represent for telecommunications' operators. In this paper, a fixed/mobile convergent architecture is introduced based on the integration of fronthaul links with fiber access infrastructure and central office assets. Tests have been performed on a wireline business service and an LTE fronthaul link measuring performances in terms of Ethernet frame loss, BER and jitter on the CPRI protocol data transport and finally EVM and frequency accuracy on the LTE signal.

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An architecture combining optical fiber and wireless fronthaul is introduced. Tests have been performed on a LTE fronthaul link measuring the impact of this combination on EVM, jitter and frequency accuracy.