Common Public Radio Interface

{{Short description|Communications standard}}

The Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) standard defines an interface between Radio Equipment Control (REC) and Radio Equipment (RE).{{cite web|url=http://www.cpri.info/spec.html|title=CPRI Specification Overview and Download}} Oftentimes, CPRI links are used to carry data between cell sites/remote radio heads and base stations/baseband units.{{cite web | url=https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/what-ecpri-and-why-it-important-for-5g-and-open-vran | title=What is eCPRI, and why is it important for 5G and open vRAN? | Fierce Network | date=15 October 2019 }}

The purpose of CPRI is to allow replacement of a copper or coax cable connection between a radio transceiver (used example for mobile-telephone communication and typically located in a tower) and a base station/baseband unit{{cite web | url=https://www.fiercewireless.com/tech/what-ecpri-and-why-it-important-for-5g-and-open-vran | title=What is eCPRI, and why is it important for 5G and open vRAN? | Fierce Network | date=15 October 2019 }} (typically located at the ground nearby), so the connection can be made to a remote and more convenient location.{{cite web|url=http://www.equicom.hu/wp-content/uploads/EXFO_anote310_Understanding-Basics-CPRI-Fronthaul-Technology_en.pdf|title=Understanding the Basics of CPRI Fronthaul Technology (by EXFO)}} This connection (often referred to as the Fronthaul network) can be a fiber to an installation where multiple remote base stations may be served. This fiber supports both single and multi mode communication. The fiber end is connected with the Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP) transceiver device.{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=15 June 2019|title=CPRI Cable Function and Details in Telecom|url=https://www.telecomkhabar.com/2019/06/cpri-cable-function-and-details-in-telecom/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200127151406/https://www.telecomkhabar.com/2019/06/cpri-cable-function-and-details-in-telecom/ |archive-date=2020-01-27 |access-date=2019-07-18|website=telecomkhabar.com|language=en-US}}

The companies working to define the specification include [[Ericsson|Ericsson

AB]], Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, NEC Corporation and Nokia.