A 5G small cell, also known as an extended pico cell, is a micro-power indoor coverage solution that uses optical fibers or network cables to transmit and distribute wireless digital baseband signals based on digital technologies. It is mainly used to cover indoor scenarios with weak signals or to enhance signals in indoor hotspot scenarios, so as to meet the actual requirements of Carrier and Industry users for low costs, efficient network setup, and subsequent easy maintenance. It is one of the mainstream solutions for enhancing indoor coverage in the 5G era.
A 5G small cell consists of a remote unit (pRRU), an extended unit (pHUB) and a main unit (BBU).
1. pRRU: an RF remote unit, modulates the baseband signal to the RF signal, and transmits it through the antenna;
2. pHUB: an convergence unit of digital baseband signals from pRRUs;
3. BBU: a baseband processing unit, processes base station (BS) baseband signals and manages the whole base station system in a centralized manner;