O-RAN reshapes mobile base stations as 6G spurs healthcare

Plextek has released a new whitepaper examining the impact of Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) on the mobile base station market and exploring the implications for future 6G applications.

Industry transformation

O-RAN is prompting a significant shift in the wireless infrastructure sector, transitioning the market away from traditional proprietary systems towards more open and modular designs. This approach enables greater flexibility for vendors, lowers barriers to entry, and simultaneously increases competition while raising technical demands within the industry.

In its analysis, Plextek asserts that navigating these changes successfully will require companies to harness multidisciplinary expertise. The paper highlights the importance of capabilities across Digital Signal Processing (DSP), radio frequency (RF) and antenna engineering, as well as thermal and mechanical system design. Agile and adaptable engineering processes are also emphasised as essential in responding to the rapid pace of innovation in mobile communications technology.

Future healthcare applications

The whitepaper highlights the significant role O-RAN and evolving wireless technologies are poised to play in the healthcare sector, especially as 6G standards approach. According to the report, 6G is expected to benefit sectors where speed and reliability are essential, such as healthcare, by enabling advances in remote healthcare, telemedicine, and robotic surgery. Plextek notes that ultra-low latency and highly dependable connections offered by 6G technologies will make them central to emerging applications.

While widespread 5G adoption in healthcare settings remains ongoing, the report identifies larger, well-funded hospitals as likely early adopters. These institutions are expected to implement private 5G networks, thereby paving the way for the further use of technologies such as telerobotic surgery and real-time remote patient care.

"O-RAN has opened up the market, but also made it far more demanding," said Kevin Cobley, RF Systems Director at Plextek. "To stay competitive, vendors need to align cutting-edge engineering across multiple domains while keeping development cycles lean and risk-managed."

Main findings

Plextek's white paper outlines several key conclusions regarding the evolving dynamics of the mobile base station market. The adoption of O-RAN is noted as democratising access to the market while intensifying competition. The report notes that technical excellence has become a key differentiator, as standard reference designs are increasingly serving as mere starting points for new products.

According to Plextek, bespoke innovation in RF and signal processing is necessary to gain a competitive advantage in this environment. The paper further details the importance of front-end filter quality, especially for ceramic filters, in compact and efficient multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) radio units. For system transmitters, complexity increases as MIMO scaling necessitates advanced digital pre-distortion (DPD) techniques, and the integration of gallium nitride (GaN) power amplifiers requires careful supply sequencing and biasing for optimal performance.

The integration of large antenna arrays, scaling up to 64 or more elements, also requires strong inter-element isolation and attention to minimising size, weight, and power (SWaP) metrics to enhance system flexibility and efficiency.

Industry implications

The deployment of private and enterprise 5G networks is identified as a key area for growth, underscoring the need for systems that offer Wi-Fi-like convenience, combined with robust beamforming capabilities. Furthermore, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications is cited as an emerging field that demands automotive-grade reliability and advanced thermal management to cope with challenging operational settings.

Satellite and non-terrestrial networks (NTN) are also discussed, with these segments pushing technical boundaries for extreme SWaP optimisation in anticipation of next-generation 6G connectivity requirements.

"As 6G standardisation milestones draw closer, with 2030 targets for terrestrial-satellite integration already shaping development roadmaps, the pressure is on. Organisations that can master the multidisciplinary design challenges, ranging from advanced RF engineering to space-qualified manufacturing, won't just stay competitive; they'll help define the very foundations of global connectivity for the next decade," Kevin concluded.