LG Uplus (032640.KS) said on the 22nd that it has verified long-distance fronthaul technology capable of extending the connection distance between base station equipment by up to three times, in partnership with global telecom equipment maker Ericsson.
Fronthaul is the segment linking radio units (RUs), which serve as base station antennas, and distributed units (DUs), which process data. It has drawn attention as a core element in building next-generation network environments.
In the test, the two companies conducted a demonstration in a long-distance fronthaul environment using fronthaul equipment and network automation features provided by Ericsson. They also verified interoperability with LG Uplus base station equipment along with the network automation functions. The results confirmed that stable network quality can be maintained even as the connection distance between base station equipment is extended up to threefold.
The companies also tested DU redundancy technology, which automatically switches a malfunctioning unit over to a backup unit. The test confirmed the potential to reduce human intervention and improve operational efficiency in network operations going forward.
The verification is significant in that it tested technologies needed to adopt artificial intelligence radio access networks (AI-RAN) and cloud-based networks while using existing telecom facilities, the company said. LG Uplus plans to expand technology verification in actual network environments and to secure technologies needed to build AI-based autonomous networks. "We will continue to identify new technologies needed for the next-generation network era," said Lee Sang-heon, head of advanced network development at LG Uplus.