  Centralized Radio Access Network (C-RAN) architecture is the only viable
solution to handle the complex interference scenario generated by massive
antennas and small cells deployment as required by next generation (5G) mobile
networks. In conventional C-RAN, the fronthaul links used to exchange the
signal between Base Band Units (BBUs) and Remote Antenna Units (RAUs) are based
on digital baseband (BB) signals over optical fibers due to the huge bandwidth
required. In this paper we evaluate the transport capability of copper-based
all-analog fronthaul architecture called Radio over Copper (RoC) that leverages
on the pre-existing LAN cables that are already deployed in buildings and
enterprises. In particular, the main contribution of the paper is to evaluate
the number of independent BB signals for multiple antennas system that can be
transported over multi-pair Cat-5/6/7 cables under a predefined fronthauling
transparency condition in terms of maximum BB signal degradation. The MIMO-RoC
proves to be a complementary solution to optical fiber for the last 200m toward
the RAUs, mostly to reuse the existing LAN cables and to power-supply the RAUs
over the same cable.
