Rethink fronthaul for soft RAN

In this article we discuss the design of a new fronthaul interface for future 5G networks. The major shortcomings of current fronthaul solutions are first analyzed, and then a new fronthaul interface called next-generation fronthaul interface (NGFI) is proposed. The design principles for NGFI are presented, including decoupling the fronthaul bandwidth from the number of antennas, decoupling cell and user equipment processing, and focusing on high-performancegain collaborative technologies. NGFI aims to better support key 5G technologies, in particular cloud RAN, network functions virtualization, and large-scale antenna systems. NGFI claims the advantages of reduced bandwidth as well as improved transmission efficiency by exploiting the tidal wave effect on mobile network traffic. The transmission of NGFI is based on Ethernet to enjoy the benefits of flexibility and reliability. The major impact, challenges, and potential solutions of Ethernet-based fronthaul networks are also analyzed. Jitter, latency, and time and frequency synchronization are the major issues to overcome.