The Radio Access Network (RAN) is a key component of mobile telecommunications networks that enables wireless connections to end devices and ensures access to the core network. Mobile radio technologies such as GSM, GPRS/EDGE, UMTS, LTE and 5G use the RAN with different technical variants, consisting of base stations, antennas, software and transmission and reception technology in the end devices. In addition to mobile communications technologies, radio networks such as the Wireless Regional Area Network (WRAN) and network technologies such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) also rely on the RAN concept.
It comprises base stations, antennas, software and transmission and reception technology and covers radii with radio signals, with antennas being responsible for transmission and reception. Software and other components manage logical connections, access control, encryption and data forwarding to the core network. End devices can be connected to several RANs at the same time, while the core network can be circuit- or packet-switched, depending on the telecommunications system. The functions of the RAN include wireless connections to end devices, user and device authentication, access control to services, data or voice forwarding to the telecommunications network and seamless end device handover when changing radio cells as well as accounting for service billing.
The advantages of the RAN are the reduction in required hardware, increased flexibility and the ability to scale workloads quickly. Resources can be flexibly adapted to changing network requirements.