Radio Units

Baseband Units BBU / DU / CU

Central processing hubs that convert digitized radio samples from RRU/AAU fronthaul into IP packets for the mobile core. Split architectures (CU-DU) enable flexible deployment from single-site to centralized/cloud RAN topologies with sub-millisecond latency budgets.

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Technology

Baseband Processing Architecture

Modern baseband units implement the 3GPP functional split between CU (control plane, RRC/PDCP) and DU (user plane, RLC/MAC/PHY-high). This separation enables centralized placement of CUs in data centers while DUs stay close to the radio for latency-sensitive L1 processing.

CU-DU Functional Split

3GPP Option 2 (F1) split separates CU (RRC, PDCP) from DU (RLC, MAC, High-PHY). CU can be centralized serving multiple DUs, while each DU handles real-time scheduling within the 1ms TTI budget. F1-C (SCTP) for control, F1-U (GTP-U) for user plane.

vRAN / Cloud RAN Ready

Virtualized RAN deployments run CU/DU workloads on COTS x86 servers with DPDK and hardware accelerators (FPGAs or Intel FlexRAN). Kubernetes orchestration enables dynamic scaling of baseband capacity based on traffic load across cell sites.

eCPRI / CPRI Fronthaul

DU connects to RRU/AAU via eCPRI (25GbE) or legacy CPRI (9.8–24.3 Gbps) optical interfaces. eCPRI's packet-based transport reduces fronthaul bandwidth by 10x compared to CPRI through functional split optimization, enabling longer fiber runs.

L1 Acceleration

Hardware-accelerated L1 processing handles Turbo/LDPC decoding, FFT/iFFT, channel estimation, and MIMO precoding. Dedicated DSP cores or FPGA Look-Aside accelerators offload compute-intensive PHY operations from general-purpose CPUs.

Multi-RAT Support

Single BBU/DU platform simultaneously processes LTE FDD, LTE TDD, 5G NR FR1, and NB-IoT carriers. Shared hardware resources are dynamically allocated across RATs based on traffic demand, maximizing utilization and minimizing CAPEX.

High Availability

1+1 redundancy with automatic failover under 50ms. Dual power supplies, ECC memory, and RAID storage ensure five-nines availability. GPS-synchronized timing with IEEE 1588v2 PTP backup maintains precise frame synchronization across the RAN.

Available Solutions

Industry-leading hardware from top vendors, fully compatible with MOBITELSMS's mobile core infrastructure.

Nokia AirScale BBU

Nokia — Modular Baseband Unit

ArchitectureCU-DU integrated or split

CapacityUp to 84 LTE cells / 28 NR cells

FronthauleCPRI 25GbE, CPRI 24.3G

RATsLTE FDD/TDD, 5G NR, NB-IoT

Form Factor19" rack, 2U height

Redundancy1+1 with <50ms failover

Ericsson Baseband 6630

Ericsson — High-Capacity Baseband

ArchitectureSupports CU-DU split (Option 2)

Cell CapacityUp to 72 LTE + 36 NR cells

FronthauleCPRI 25GbE optical SFP28

ProcessingCustom ASIC + DSP acceleration

Power< 500W typical at full load

SoftwareEricsson Cloud RAN compatible

Huawei BBU5900

Huawei — Multi-Mode Baseband

ArchitectureUnified BBU for all RATs

Supported RATsGSM, UMTS, LTE, 5G NR

Max CellsUp to 100 cells per BBU

InterfaceeCPRI + CPRI dual-mode

Dimensions442 x 310 x 86 mm

PowerDC -48V, < 450W

Integration

Core Network Integration

MOBITELSMS's mobile core terminates S1/NG interfaces directly from BBU/DU units, providing complete EPC and 5G Core functionality.

S1/NG Interface Termination

BBU/DU connects via S1-AP (SCTP 36412) to MOBITELSMS's MME for LTE, or NG-AP to the AMF for 5G SA. User-plane traffic flows via S1-U/N3 GTP-U tunnels to the SGW-U/UPF for routing to external PDNs.

Fronthaul Management

MOBITELSMS's O&M platform provides centralized management of all BBU/DU units including firmware updates, alarm monitoring, performance counters, and configuration changes — all through a single web dashboard.

Capacity Planning

Real-time KPI dashboards show PRB utilization, connected UEs, throughput per cell, and latency metrics across all BBU/DU sites. Automated alerts trigger when capacity thresholds are breached, enabling proactive expansion planning.

Seamless Upgrades

Rolling software upgrades with zero service interruption. MOBITELSMS orchestrates BBU firmware updates site-by-site, verifying service continuity at each step before proceeding to the next unit in the cluster.