CPRI stands for Common Public Radio Interface and it refers to a public standard concerning the interaction between standard REC and radio equipment control and wireless or remote RE or radio equipment.  This standard is aimed defining the public specifications of radio interfaces in order that different radio equipments from different manufacturers and vendors can inter-operate with each other.  Another goal of CPRI is to protect the investment poured in by various telecoms and wireless service providers in terms of software development.

Various companies in the telecommunications and electronics industries have joined together to come up with the CPRI initiative.  These companies include Nokia Siemens Network, Huawei Technologies, Alcatel Lucent company, NEC Corp., and Ericsson AB.  These companies continue to work and cooperate with each other in order to maintain the radio interface standard and enhance existing features and capabilities.  As technology moves forward, new features and specifications are also included into the new versions of the Common Public Radio Interface standards.

Typical radio interface structures involve standard base stations that are situated near or adjacent the antenna.  Through CPRI specifications and standards, the base stations are able to connect with other radio heads remotely.  This will then translate to increased functionality and capability of the REC or radio equipment control through the use of fiber cables that carry the CPRI data.  With this kind of architecture, radio service providers and telecom operators will be able to reduce costs in the sense that only those RE or radio equipment that are classified as remote will be situated in seemingly challenging locations.

When CPRI specification versions are released, all necessary details will also be part of the package.  These details include the serial and digitized base station interface including both REC and RE.  The connectivity options, control and other configurations are also included in the CPRI version specification.