A radio access network (RAN) is the part of a mobile network that connects phones and other wireless devices to the operator’s core network over radio links. It provides the cellular wireless access edge; it is not the core network, the transport network, or the entire mobile network.
What a RAN does
A device communicates by radio with network equipment serving its area. The RAN provides that wireless connection and carries the communication toward the core network. Ericsson describes the 5G RAN as the link between cellular devices and the core: Ericsson’s 5G RAN overview.
At a high level, a mobile network also includes the user equipment (such as a phone), the core network, transport between network domains, and operations and management. These parts work together, but they have different roles. Ericsson’s overview of 5G RANs distinguishes those network domains: 5 key facts about 5G radio access networks.
How the RAN differs from the core and transport networks
- RAN: provides the radio connection between user equipment and the mobile network.
- Core network: handles network functions beyond radio access and provides onward connectivity.
- Transport network: carries connections between network domains, including between access and core.
In short, a phone’s radio connection belongs to the RAN; the RAN is not itself the whole cellular system or the public internet.
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RAN components depend on the generation
There is no single parts list that applies to every RAN. Architecture and terminology change across mobile generations, and functions may be integrated or divided among units depending on the implementation.
LTE-Advanced: eNodeBs
In its LTE-Advanced architecture description, ITU-R Recommendation M.2012-7 describes a flat network with one type of node, the eNodeB, responsible for radio-related functions in one or more cells. The eNodeB connects to core-network elements over S1, with separate user-plane and control-plane parts; X2 links between eNodeBs support functions that include active-mode mobility. These are LTE-Advanced-specific details, not a universal description of 5G RAN equipment. See ITU-R Recommendation M.2012-7 (February 2026).
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5G: base-station functions and radios
5G descriptions refer to base-station functions and radio components. In some architectures, those functions are split across units rather than kept together; the specific arrangement depends on the deployment. The term eNodeB belongs to the LTE family and should not be used as a generic name for every 5G base station.
The range of architectures is reflected in the 3GPP RAN WG3 remit, which covers UTRAN, E-UTRAN, and NG-RAN architecture and related interface protocols: 3GPP RAN WG3.
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What Open RAN means
RAN is the general name for the mobile network’s radio-access domain. Open RAN is an approach to organizing that domain: it emphasizes disaggregating functions and using open interfaces. Ericsson characterizes it as an architectural concept built on 3GPP specifications and driven by the O-RAN Alliance: Ericsson’s 5G RAN overview.
Open RAN is therefore not a synonym for RAN, nor does the term by itself establish that every part of a particular deployment is vendor-neutral. To compare architectures, look at the mobile generation, how functions are integrated or split, the interfaces between them, and where radio and base-station functions are deployed.
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