(
Radio
Access
Network) The air interface in a cellular network. The RAN resides between the user's mobile devices and the core network. It is the most costly and process-intensive part of a cellular base station. See
air interface.
RAN Versions
GSM RAN (GRAN) was the early voice-only GSM air interface, while GSM EDGE RAN (GERAN) added packet-switched data. UMTS Terrestrial RAN (U-TRAN) is the 3G interface, and Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) is the LTE interface. See
Open RAN,
CRAN,
vRAN,
2G/3G architecture,
LTE architecture,
LTE,
3G,
UMTS and
GSM.