Hybrid distributed unit cellular network architecture

1. A cellular network, comprising:

a plurality of light 5G base stations, wherein:

each light 5G base station of the plurality of light 5G base stations comprises a radio unit and an antenna; and

each light 5G base station of the plurality of light 5G base stations does not include a distributed unit; and

a local data center, comprising a distributed unit host server system, that is communicatively connected with each light 5G base station of the plurality of light 5G base stations, wherein:

the distributed unit host server system of the local data center hosts an instantiation of a distributed unit for each light 5G base station of the plurality of light 5G base stations; and

the local data center is geographically remote from the plurality of light 5G base stations;

a pass-through edge data center (P-EDC), distinct from the local data center, comprising one or more routers, wherein

the P-EDC is communicatively connected with a full base station and the local data center that is communicatively connected with the plurality of light 5G base stations;

the P-EDC routes communications from the local data center to a centralized unit (CU); and

the P-EDC routes communications from the full base station to the CU; and

the CU, wherein:

the CU is hosted separately from the P-EDC;

the CU is hosted on a cloud-computing platform; and

the CU is communicatively connected with the P-EDC.

2. The cellular network of claim 1 , wherein each RU of the plurality of light 5G base stations transmits a continuous bit rate data stream of received signals to the local data center.

3. The cellular network of claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of dedicated fiber optic links, wherein each dedicated fiber optic link connects a different light 5G base station of the plurality of light 5G base stations with the local data center.

4. The cellular network of claim 1 , further comprising:

the full base station, comprising: an RU, and a distributed unit, wherein:

the radio unit and the distributed unit are located on site at the full base station.

5. The cellular network of claim 1 , wherein the full base station communicates using multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) segment routing (SR) on a fiber-based network.

6. The cellular network of claim 1 , wherein the centralized unit is hosted on the cloud-computing platform as part of a break-out edge data center.

7. The cellular network of claim 1 , wherein the full base station further comprises a router that routes communications between the radio unit, the distributed unit, and the P-EDC.

8. A method for creating a cellular network utilizing a hybrid distribution of distributed units (DUs), the method comprising:

installing a plurality of light base stations distributed in a geographic region, wherein each light base station of the plurality of light base stations comprises a radio unit (RU) but does not include a DU, wherein:

the plurality of light base stations is part of a 5G New Radio (NR) cellular network;

installing a local data center that hosts a plurality of DUs, wherein each DU of the plurality of DUs corresponds to a light base station of the plurality of lights base stations;

installing a pass-through edge data center (P-EDC), distinct from the local data center, comprising one or more routers, wherein:

the P-EDC is communicatively connected with a full base station;

the P-EDC routes communications from the full base station to a centralized unit (CU);

the CU is communicatively connected with the P-EDC; and

the CU is hosted separately from the P-EDC; and

connecting the local data center with the P-EDC, wherein the P-EDC routes communications from the local data center to the CU; and

connecting the RUs of the plurality of light base stations with the DUs of the local data center using dedicated communication links.

9. The method for creating the cellular network utilizing the hybrid distribution of DUs of claim 8 , the method further comprising:

installing a plurality of full base stations, comprising the full base station, where each full base station of the plurality of full base stations comprises a radio unit and a DU.

10. The method for creating the cellular network utilizing the hybrid distribution of DUs of claim 9 , wherein multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) segment routing (SR) is used for communication between the P-EDC and each full base station of the plurality of full base stations.

11. The method for creating the cellular network utilizing the hybrid distribution of DUs of claim 9 , the method further comprising:

providing cellular network service to a plurality of user equipment using the plurality of full base stations and the plurality of light base stations.

12. The method for creating the cellular network utilizing the hybrid distribution of DUs of claim 11 , further comprising:

connecting the P-EDC with a cloud computing platform on which a cellular network core is executed.

13. The method for creating the cellular network utilizing the hybrid distribution of DUs of claim 12 , wherein the CU is hosted by the cloud computing platform and each of the plurality of DUs and the plurality of full base stations communicate with the CU.

14. The method for creating the cellular network utilizing the hybrid distribution of DUs of claim 8 , further comprising:

transmitting, by each RU of the plurality of light base stations, a continuous bit rate data stream of received signals to the local data center.

15. The method for creating the cellular network utilizing the hybrid distribution of DUs of claim 8 , wherein a plurality of dedicated fiber optic links is used to connect the RUs of the plurality of light base stations with the DUs of the local data center.