What role will vRANs play in our 5G future?

Radio access networks (RANs) are a critical part of mobile communications infrastructure, comprising of antennas, base stations, and controllers, RANs have typically been an expensive element in mobile networks. However, the emergence of virtual radio access networks (vRANs) offers an alternative to proprietary radio access networks, as service providers look to reduce costs. vRAN applies network functions virtualization (NFV), where the functions run in virtualized environments on general purpose hardware rather than on specialized equipment running proprietary software. In the case of vRAN, vendor-specific base stations can become flexible, cost-effective systems.