Fully Passive Remote Radio Head for Uplink Cell Densification in Wireless Access Networks

A novel remote radio head (RRH) concept for fully passive radio access network (RAN) plants is demonstrated for short-range wireless networks. The joint transmission of data and energy through the optical fronthaul of RANs enables on-demand network densification through the deployment of distributed cells with low-complexity and low-power antenna sites along a passive optical network without electrical supply. The feasibility of the proposed RRH is demonstrated in uplink direction, employing low-noise amplification and analogue radio-over-fiber transmission over multimode fiber. Remote powering through the optical fronthaul is realized at a feed power of 120 mW.