Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) refers to the virtualization of basestation functionalities by means of cloud computing. This results in a novelcellular architecture in which low-cost wireless access points, known as radiounits (RUs) or remote radio heads (RRHs), are centrally managed by areconfigurable centralized "cloud", or central, unit (CU). C-RAN allowsoperators to reduce the capital and operating expenses needed to deploy andmaintain dense heterogeneous networks. This critical advantage, along withspectral efficiency, statistical multiplexing and load balancing gains, makeC-RAN well positioned to be one of the key technologies in the development of5G systems. In this paper, a succinct overview is presented regarding the stateof the art on the research on C-RAN with emphasis on fronthaul compression,baseband processing, medium access control, resource allocation, system-levelconsiderations and standardization efforts.
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