METHODS TO REDUCE FRONTHAUL COMPLEXITY FOR SINGLE FREQUENCY NETWORK (SFN) IN AN OPEN RADIO ACCESS NETWORK (O-RAN)

Abstract

An Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) system including a single frequency network (SFN) for handling signal transmissions involving a user equipment (UE) is provided, which system includes: a plurality of O-RAN radio units (O-RUs) configured to simultaneously send the same signal over the same frequency channel; and an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU). The system is configured to filter out at least one of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) signals associated with at least one of the plurality of O-RUs in the SFN based on one of signal power or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Signal paths of the O-RUs toward the O-DU are linked directly to the O-DU, and each of the O-RUs filters one of UL and DL signals based on a comparison to a predetermined signal power or SNR threshold. The O-DU controls DL transmission to only use the O-RUs whose UL signals were above the predetermined threshold.

Claims

1. An Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) system including a single frequency network (SFN) for handling signal transmissions involving a user equipment (UE), comprising: a plurality of O-RAN radio units (O-RUs) configured to simultaneously send the same signal over the same frequency channel; and an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU); wherein the system is configured to filter out at least one of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) signals associated with at least one of the plurality of O-RUs in the SFN based on one of signal power or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein signal paths of the O-RUs toward the O-DU are linked directly to the O-DU.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein each of the O-RUs filters one of UL and DL signals based on a comparison to one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

4. The system according to claim 3, wherein the O-DU performs at least one of copying and combining the signals from different O-RUs in at least one of DL and UL.

5. The system according to claim 3, wherein the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is specified by the O-DU.

6. The system according to claim 2, wherein the O-RUs are configured to only send physical resource blocks (PRBs) having one of i) power above a specified threshold power, or ii) SNR above a specified threshold SNR.

7. The system according to claim 1, further comprising: a fronthaul multiplexer (FHM) linking the O-RUs to the O-DU; wherein the plurality of O-RUs all send UL data, and the FHM determines which UL data to use for combining based on one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

8. The system according to claim 2, wherein, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU controls DL transmission by transmitting DL signals for the UE only through the O-RUs for which the received UL signals for the UE were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

9. The system according to claim 2, wherein, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU schedules DL transmission only for the O-RUs whose UL signals were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

10. The system according to claim 3, wherein the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is at least one of: i) statically determined based on at least one of the O-RAN parameters and the SFN parameters; ii) dynamically determined using machine learning; and iii) determined based on configured modulation scheme for the UE.

11. A method of operating an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) system including a single frequency network (SFN) for handling signal transmissions involving a user equipment (UE), comprising: providing a plurality of O-RAN radio units (O-RUs) configured to simultaneously send the same signal over the same frequency channel; providing an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU); and configuring the system to filter out at least one of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) signals associated with at least one of the plurality of O-RUs in the SFN based on one of signal power or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein signal paths of the O-RUs toward the O-DU are linked directly to the O-DU.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein each of the O-RUs filters one of UL and DL signals based on a comparison to one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the O-DU performs at least one of copying and combining the signals from different O-RUs in at least one of DL and UL.

15. The method according to claim 13, wherein the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is specified by the O-DU.

16. The method according to claim 12, wherein the O-RUs are configured to only send physical resource blocks (PRBs) having one of i) power above a specified threshold power, or ii) SNR above a specified threshold SNR.

17. The method according to claim 11, further comprising: providing a fronthaul multiplexer (FHM) linking the O-RUs to the O-DU; wherein the plurality of O-RUs all send UL data, and the FHM determines which UL data to use for combining based on one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

18. The method according to claim 12, wherein, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU controls DL transmission by transmitting DL signals for the UE only through the O-RUs for which the received UL signals for the UE were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

19. The method according to claim 12, wherein, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU schedules DL transmission only for the O-RUs whose UL signals were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

20. The method according to claim 13, wherein the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is at least one of: i) statically determined based on at least one of the O-RAN parameters and the SFN parameters; ii) dynamically determined using machine learning; and iii) determined based on configured modulation scheme for the UE.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0019] FIG. 1 shows example network architectures of single frequency network (SFN) for O-RAN.

[0020] FIG. 2 shows example network architectures of optimized SFN for O-RAN.

[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates an example signal flow diagram for O-RU start-up and capability exchange.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] In an example embodiment of the system and method according to the present disclosure, the O-RUs 1003 terminate at the O-DU 1001 instead of at the FHM or any multiplexer, as shown in FIG. 2, which illustrates the operational connection among the user equipment (UE) 1004, O-RUs 1003 and O-DU 1001.

[0023] In an example embodiment of the system and method, at least one of the copy functionality and the combining functionality is implemented at the O-DU instead of at the FHM. In this example embodiment, the O-DU software takes care of copying and/or combining the signals from different physical Radios (O-RUs) in DL and UL, respectively, thereby eliminating the need for a multiplexer (e.g., FHM) between the O-DU and O-RUs. Thus, there is significant reduction of processing delay at FHM in the entire transmit/receive chain. Based on this example network configuration, which is one of the options that network operators can readily adopt, in certain cases, reduction in fiber delay can be achieved as well. This example network configuration can be used for indoor as well as outdoor requirements, e.g., based on the fiber requirements and topology. This can be achieved in any ORAN specified Sync profiles (e.g., C1/2/3/4).

[0024] In an example embodiment of the system and method, uplink transmission bandwidth over eCPRI is optimized, e.g., by instructing O-RUs to filter out the signals based on a specified threshold, e.g., specified by the O-DU. Generally, combining various uplink samples is compute intensive, so this usage can be optimized by instructing O-RUs to filter out the signals based on a threshold, e.g., specified by O-DU. O-RUs can be configured to send the signals towards the O-DU based on a set threshold for SNR level or power level. In an example embodiment, this threshold can be set for each Transmission Time Interval (TTI) and can be communicated over the c-plane interface defined by O-RAN. This can be applied to uplink channels (PRACH and PUSCH). The threshold can be changed every TTI, either per PRB basis or per UE basis. This can be indicated in a new parameter defined in the ORAN control plane protocol.

[0025] For the example embodiment in which the O-RUs filter out the signals based on a specified threshold, e.g., SNR level or power level, a new section extension can be used in conformance with O-RAN CUS specification [RAN Fronthaul Working Group Control, User and Synchronization Plane Specification—O-RAN.WG4.CUS.0-v06.00], as shown below:

TABLE-US-00001 extType meaning extLen extension parameters octets meaning 0 reserved 1 (1 word) Reserved 1 for future use reserved 1 for future use 21 SFN optimization 1 powerThreshold 1 Threshold to determine whether UL signal should be considered for combining in SFN or shared cell configuration
An example section format could be implement as shown below:

TABLE-US-00002 ef extType = 0x15 1 Octet N extLen = 0 × 01 (1 word) 1 N + 1 powerThreshold[7:0] 1 N + 2 Reserved 1 N + 3 ef Indicates whether there are more section extensions included. extType: Defines the extension type (0 × 15 or 21 (decimal) for SFN optimization) extLen: Length of extension

[0026] In an alternative example embodiment, a static threshold is used over the management plane (M-Plane), which threshold is applied for each PRB in every TTI by the O-RU to filter the PRBs to be sent to O-DU. O-RU which has dropped the packets (according to the set threshold) shall indicate to O-DU that the packets are dropped. This parameter can be defined in ORAN M-plane specification [O-RAN Alliance Working Group 4, Management Plane Specification—O-RAN.WG4.MP.0-v06.00] under o-ran-uplane-conf.yang Module.

[0027] module: o-ran-uplane-conf

[0028] + - - rw user-plane-configuration

[0029] + - - rw powerThreshold decimal64 {mcap:OPTIMIZED-SFN-SUPPORTED}?

[0030] OPTIMIZED-SFN-SUPPORTED will be defined as a feature capability to be reported by O-RU as part of its capability.d

[0031] For the above-described example embodiments, there are multiple options to determine the threshold levels. One example method is to statically determine the thresholds based on network (e.g., O-RAN and/or SFN) study and simulations. Another example method is to learn dynamically (e.g., using machine learning) and automatically optimize the threshold levels using machine learning algorithms. Another example method is to set the threshold based on the user, according to configured modulation schemes.

[0032] In a typical Distributed Antenna System (DAS) configuration, for most (e.g., 90%) of the time, not all O-RUs will have visibility to a UE. This means that remaining O-RUs which do not have visibility are sending noise to the O-DU. In this scenario, based on expected SNR levels and/or power levels for a given PRB (e.g., based on MCS used for that PRB), O-RU can be configured to not send the IQ samples for PRBs if the received signal power is lower than a threshold. This threshold could be sent over C-Plane for each PRB or a group of PRBs to the O-RU. The O-RU then selectively sends only the PRBs that have power (or SNR) above the threshold, which can lead to approximately 80% of IQ vectors in above examples being filtered out at the O-RU. This reduces the bandwidth (BW) needed on the FH interface from the O-RUs to the O-DU, as well as reducing the CPU usage required for uplink IQ combining function. In addition, this configuration (to not send the IQ samples for PRBs if the received signal power is lower than a threshold) also ensures that the combining process at the O-DU takes only the valid signals and not noise (which otherwise can lead to overload and effectively degrade the combined signal).

[0033] The above-described configuration of filtering the PRBs in UL by the O-RU can be done in both the cascade mode of O-RU configuration or in the FHM-based shared cell configuration in conformance with the ORAN specification. In addition, this filtering enables complete removal of the FHM element due to much lower volume of IQ samples arriving at the O-DU. FHM processing delay, which is part of overall fronthaul delay, will be absorbed in the O-DU, since the O-DU will handle additional processing of copy and combine. However, it should be noted that the number of streams to combine at the O-DU should be less than that of FHM due to selective transmission and reception.

[0034] In the example configuration depicted in FIG. 2, using the set threshold at O-RUs, only the two O-RUs which are visible to UE 1004 (as indicated by the signal symbols) would be transmitting uplink data as indicated by the solid lines connecting the O-RUs to the O-DU, and the O-DU needs to combine merely these signals. Although the above-described example embodiments apply the threshold parameters at the O-RU and the O-RU selectively applies the filtering, the threshold parameter application can also be implemented in any one of the configurations depicted in FIG. 1. In these cases, the threshold value can be applied at the FHM (or a multiplexer), and the FHM, based on the threshold value, can selectively do the combining, thus generating a signal with a better SNR. In this scenario of using one of the configurations depicted in FIG. 1, all the O-RUs in the configuration would send the uplink data, and the FHM will decide which samples to be selected for combining based on the threshold.

[0035] In another example embodiment, downlink transmission optimization is achieved based on the uplink received signal pattern. Based on the uplink receive signal pattern, the O-DU controls the downlink transmission by transmitting the downlink signals for a given UE only through the O-RUs for which the received uplink signals for the given UE was above the threshold. In an alternative example embodiment, a neighbor relation table can be built dynamically and used by the O-DU to determine to which O-RUs the data should be sent. It should be noted that current ORAN specification supports selective transmission and reception from O-RUs using beam forming techniques.

[0036] Optimizing the downlink transmission by transmitting the downlink signals for a given UE only through the O-RUs for which the received uplink signals for the given UE was above the threshold has several benefits. First, this arrangement reduces the fronthaul bandwidth requirement. Second, this arrangement significantly reduces the total power consumption since the downlink is not always transmitting at full power (power consumption in best case is close to single O-RU power in a conventional, non-optimized configuration, but the optimized configuration covers multiple O-RUs worth of cell coverage area). Third, most parts of the PRBs and Slots can become empty in all O-RUs. Fourth, significant energy saving and hence power consumption in best case is close to single radio power (but covering multiple Radios worth of cell coverage area). Fourth, substantial reduction of interference levels in downlink frequency spectrum is achieved as the transmission is performed in only very few O-RUs, thereby leaving the other O-RU coverage regions to be silent, which in turn reduces interference to adjacent cells. In the example embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the O-DU 1001 would be sending data only to O-RUs which have sent favorable uplink transmission (as indicated by the solid connecting lines).

[0037] In yet another example embodiment, based on the uplink receive pattern, O-DU shall control the downlink for each of the O-RUs. For example, downlink will not be scheduled for O-RUs whose uplink signal is reported as below a set threshold, thereby resulting in reduction in power consumption for O-RUs. This technique can be applied to either a small cell configuration (indoor deployment) or a macro deployment.

[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates example signal flow diagram for O-RU start-up and capability exchange with Network Management System (NMS). In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the NMS 1005 can be implemented as, e.g., Service Management and Orchestration (SMO) module. Once the O-RU 1003 initiates a call home to the NMS 1005, the network operator 1006 configures Secure Shell (SSH) public key for all O-RUs under O-RU common configuration at the NMS 1005, as shown by the process arrow 1. Next, as shown by the process arrow 2, Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) server (which in this example can be part of the O-RU 1003) initiates a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection to the NETCONF client, e.g., the NMS 1005 in this example. As shown by the process arrow 3, the NMS 1005 (serving as NETCONF client) initiates an SSH session by contacting the 1003 (serving as NETCONF server). As shown by the process arrow 4, client and server each send capabilities information (e.g., Uniform Resource Identifier (URI)) as part of exchanging “hello” messages. Next, a request-response protocol (RPC) is performed, as illustrated by process arrows 5 through 10. RPC is initiated by the client (the NMS 1005 in this case), which sends an <rpc> request message to the server (O-RU 1003 in this case) to execute a specified procedure with supplied parameters, and the server (O-RU 1003) sends a response to the client. As shown by the process arrow 5, an <rpc><get-config> request is sent by the NMS 1005 to get device information from the 1003. As shown by the process arrow 6, the O-RU 1003 sends an <rpc-reply> containing O-RU inventory information to the NMS 1005. As shown by the process arrow 7, the NMS 1005 sends an <rpc><edit-config> request containing configuration data to the O-RU 1003. As shown by the process arrow 8, the O-RU 1003 sends an <rpc-reply> message containing <OK> to the NMS 1005. As shown by the process arrow 9, the NMS 1005 sends an <rpc><get-config> request to get radio capabilities from the O-RU 1003. As shown by the process arrow 10, the O-RU 1003 sends an <rpc-reply> message containing O-RU-supported features to the NMS 1005.

[0039] Some of the advantages resulting from the example embodiments of the system and method according to the present disclosure include the following:

[0040] 1) Because fewer O-RUs are transmitting or processing signals towards the O-DU in uplink at a given point of time, significant reduction of fronthaul bandwidth usage results.

[0041] 2) Combining of signals at the O-DU is implemented using only the relevant signals since noise is already filtered out by the O-RU, which in turn results in the combined signal being more accurate in comparison to a combined signal resulting from signals received from all O-RUs (which contain noise in addition to relevant signals).

[0042] 3) Energy saving is achieved at both O-RU and O-DU.

[0043] 4) Flexibility to dynamically change the network configuration based on the network load is provided. For example, based on the signal strength across a multi-sector site, the multi-sector site could be dynamically configured to operate as SFN or DAS).

[0044] 5) Role of the FHM is eliminated, thus reducing delay in both processing and transmission.

[0045] 6) By having the O-DU control the downlink for each of the O-RUs, e.g., by not scheduling downlink for O-RUs whose uplink signal is reported as being below threshold, reduction in power consumption for O-RU is achieved (since the data is replicated in all scheduled O-RUs for downlink, the power consumption is directly proportional to the number of scheduled O-RUs even though each UE may see only one or two O-RUs).

[0046] As a summary, several examples of the system and method according to the present disclosure are provided.

[0047] A first example of an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) system including a single frequency network (SFN) for handling signal transmissions involving a user equipment (UE) comprises:

[0048] a plurality of O-RAN radio units (O-RUs) configured to simultaneously send the same signal over the same frequency channel; and

[0049] an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU);

[0050] wherein the system is configured to filter out at least one of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) signals associated with at least one of the plurality of O-RUs in the SFN based on one of signal power or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

[0051] In a second example of the system modifying the first example of the system, signal paths of the O-RUs toward the O-DU are linked directly to the O-DU.

[0052] In a third example of the system modifying the second example of the system, each of the O-RUs filters one of UL and DL signals based on a comparison to one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0053] In a fourth example of the system modifying the third example of the system, the O-DU performs at least one of copying and combining the signals from different O-RUs in at least one of DL and UL.

[0054] In a fifth example of the system modifying the third example of the system, the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is specified by the O-DU.

[0055] In a sixth example of the system modifying the second example of the system, the O-RUs are configured to only send physical resource blocks (PRBs) having one of i) power above a specified threshold power, or ii) SNR above a specified threshold SNR.

[0056] In a seventh example of the system modifying the first example of the system, the system further comprises:

[0057] a fronthaul multiplexer (FHM) linking the O-RUs to the O-DU;

[0058] wherein the plurality of O-RUs all send UL data, and the FHM determines which UL data to use for combining based on one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0059] In an eighth example of the system modifying the second example of the system, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU controls DL transmission by transmitting DL signals for the UE only through the O-RUs for which the received UL signals for the UE were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0060] In a ninth example of the system modifying the second example of the system, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU schedules DL transmission only for the O-RUs whose UL signals were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0061] In a tenth example of the system modifying the third example of the system, the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is at least one of: i) statically determined based on at least one of the O-RAN parameters and the SFN parameters; ii) dynamically determined using machine learning; and iii) determined based on configured modulation scheme for the UE.

[0062] A first example of a method of operating an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) system including a single frequency network (SFN) for handling signal transmissions involving a user equipment (UE comprises:

[0063] providing a plurality of O-RAN radio units (O-RUs) configured to simultaneously send the same signal over the same frequency channel; and providing an O-RAN distributed unit (O-DU);

[0064] configuring the system to filter out at least one of uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) signals associated with at least one of the plurality of O-RUs in the SFN based on one of signal power or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

[0065] In a second example of the method modifying the first example of the method, signal paths of the O-RUs toward the O-DU are linked directly to the O-DU.

[0066] In a third example of the method modifying the second example of the method, each of the O-RUs filters one of UL and DL signals based on a comparison to one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0067] In a fourth example of the method modifying the third example of the method, the O-DU performs at least one of copying and combining the signals from different O-RUs in at least one of DL and UL.

[0068] In a fifth example of the method modifying the third example of the method, the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is specified by the O-DU.

[0069] In a sixth example of the method modifying the second example of the method, the O-RUs are configured to only send physical resource blocks (PRBs) having one of i) power above a specified threshold power, or ii) SNR above a specified threshold

[0070] SNR.

[0071] In a seventh example of the method modifying the first example of the method, the method further comprises:

[0072] providing a fronthaul multiplexer (FHM) linking the O-RUs to the O-DU;

[0073] wherein the plurality of O-RUs all send UL data, and the FHM determines which UL data to use for combining based on one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0074] In an eighth example of the method modifying the second example of the method, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU controls DL transmission by transmitting DL signals for the UE only through the O-RUs for which the received UL signals for the UE were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0075] In a ninth example of the method modifying the second example of the method, based on UL signals for the UE received at the O-DU, the O-DU schedules DL transmission only for the O-RUs whose UL signals were above one of a predetermined signal power threshold or a predetermined SNR threshold.

[0076] In a tenth example of the method modifying the third example of the method, the one of the predetermined signal power threshold or the predetermined SNR threshold is at least one of: i) statically determined based on at least one of the O-RAN parameters and the SFN parameters; ii) dynamically determined using machine learning; and iii) determined based on configured modulation scheme for the UE.

ACRONYMS & DEFINITIONS

3GPP: 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0077] CAPEX: Capital expenditures

CPRI: Common Public Radio Interface

[0078] CUS-plane: Control, user, and synchronization plane
DAS: Distributed antenna system

DL: Downlink

[0079] eCPRI: Enhanced Common Public Radio Interface
eNB: eNodeB (4G LTE base station)

FH: Fronthaul

FHM: Fronthaul Multiplexer

[0080] FS: Functional split
gNB: gNodeB (5G NR base station)

HW: Hardware

[0081] M-plane: Management plane
MCS: Modulation and coding scheme
NMS: Network management system
O-CU: O-RAN compliant Centralized Unit
O-DU: O-RAN compliant Distributed Unit
O-RAN: Open radio access network
O-RU: O-RAN compliant Radio Unit
OPEX: Operating expenses
PRACH: Physical random access channel
PRB: Physical resource block
PUSCH: Physical uplink shared channel
RACH: Random access channel
RAT: Radio access technology
RE: Resource element
RU: Radio unit
RoE: Radio over Ethernet

SFN: Single Frequency Network

SMO: Service Management and Orchestration

[0082] SNR: Signal to noise ratio

SyncE: Synchronous Ethernet

TCP: Transmission Control Protocol

[0083] TTI: Transmission time interval

UE: User Equipment

UL: Uplink

[0084] Channel: the contiguous frequency range between lower and upper frequency limits.
DL: Downlink: data flow towards the radiating antenna (generally on the LLS interface)
eCPRI: Enhanced CPRI (eCPRT) is a way of splitting up the baseband functions to reduce traffic strain on the fiber. They are then connected to baseband units in centralized locations. The connection between the technology is what we know as ‘fronthaul’. eCPRI will be used to support 5G by enabling increased efficiency.
LLS: Lower Layer Split: logical interface between O-DU and O-RU when using a lower layer (intra-PHY based) functional split.
M-Plane: Management Plane: refers to non-real-time management operations between the O-DU and the O-RU
O-CU: O-RAN Control Unit—a logical node hosting PDCP, RRC, SDAP and other control functions
O-DU: O-RAN Distributed Unit: a logical node hosting RLC/MAC/High-PHY layers based on a lower layer functional split.
O-RU: O-RAN Radio Unit: a logical node hosting Low-PHY layer and RF processing based on a lower layer functional split. This is similar to 3GPP's “TRP” or “RRH” but more specific in including the Low-PHY layer (Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)/inverse FFT (iFFT), PRACH extraction).
RoE; Radio over ethernet. Technology to carry radio frames over ethernet.
S-Plane: Synchronization Plane: refers to traffic between the O-RU or O-DU to a synchronization controller which is generally an IEEE 1588 Grand Master (however, Grand Master functionality may be embedded in the O-DU).
U-Plane: User Plane: refers to IQ sample data transferred between O-DU and O-RU
UL: Uplink: data flow away from the radiating antenna (generally on the LLS interface)