The Emerging 3GPP 6G RAN Architecture: An Overview

2026-07-11

AI Summary

This work addresses the emerging demands of 6G for deployment flexibility and service diversity by building upon the multi-vendor interoperability strengths of 5G RAN. It systematically outlines the evolutionary trajectory of 3GPP radio access network (RAN) architecture, proposing to explicitly treat the radio unit (RU) as an independent logical entity, refine the central unit (CU)/distributed unit (DU) functional split, and replace service-based interfaces with point-to-point signaling to better support connection-oriented services. Furthermore, it explores forward-looking directions such as AI-native RAN. Anchored in the 3GPP standardization framework, the paper advocates a modular base station architecture with well-defined functional splits and interface specifications, offering a practical and implementable technical roadmap for 6G RAN that accelerates both standardization and industrial adoption.

Abstract

The 6G radio access network (RAN) architecture is emerging as a disciplined evolution of 5G RAN. The 5G baseline introduced modular base station, providing a flexible framework for diverse deployment scenarios and multi-vendor interoperability. The key architectural challenge for 6G RAN is to preserve these benefits while adapting the RAN to new deployment and service requirements. This article reviews the emerging 3GPP 6G RAN architecture with emphasis on boundary selection. It discusses central unit and distributed unit split enhancements, recognition of radio unit as a distinct logical unit, and the RAN-core network interface study, where point-to-point signaling is favored over service-based interface for connectivity services. It also highlights open areas including RAN-core network interface for non-connectivity services, data collection framework, and artificial intelligence for 6G RAN.

Problem

• 6G RAN
• architecture evolution
• RAN-core interface
• logical unit split
• deployment requirements

Innovation

• 6G RAN architecture
• CU-DU split
• radio unit (RU)
• RAN-core interface
• AI for RAN