RAN
Technology & Computing abbreviation · Telecom
| Stands for | Radio access network |
|---|---|
| Categories | Technology & Computing |
RAN stands for Radio access network, a telecom abbreviation.
Part of a mobile network that connects phones and other devices to the core network over the air, consisting of antennas, radios and base-station equipment at cell sites. It accounts for much of an operator's network investment.
Example: The operator is replacing its RAN equipment from one vendor with gear from another.
Usage notes
Major RAN vendors include Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei and Samsung. "Open RAN", promoted by the O-RAN Alliance founded in 2018, aims to let operators mix equipment from different suppliers through standardized interfaces. Several Western governments restricted Huawei equipment in their RANs from around 2019 over security concerns.
Related abbreviations
More telecom abbreviations
- PON – Passive optical network
- POTS – Plain old telephone service
- PSTN – Public switched telephone network
- PTT – Push-to-talk
- PUK – PIN Unblocking Key
- QAM – Quadrature amplitude modulation
- RCS – Rich Communication Services
- RF – Radio frequency
- RFID – Radio-frequency identification
- RJ11 – Registered Jack 11
- RSSI – Received signal strength indicator
- SAR – Specific absorption rate