Systems and Methods for RRU Control Messaging Architecture for Massive MIMO Systems

A method in a network component for controlling a remote radio unit (RRU) in a multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) system, the method comprising:

• modulating, with a transceiver, a control signal to produce a modulated control signal, wherein the control signal comprises one of control information to control analog components on the RRU and status information about the analog components on the RRU;
• combining, with the transceiver, the modulated control signal with a data signal to produce a combined signal;
• and
• transmitting the combined signal to a second network component via a physical channel.

A method in a first network component for receiving control signals or status signals from a second network component, the method comprising:

• receiving, at the first network component, a combined signal from the second network component on a physical channel, wherein the combined signal comprises data and one of remote radio unit (RRU) control information for controlling analog components on the RRU and RRU status information about the analog components on the RRU;
• splitting, by the first network component, the combined signal into a first signal and a second signal;
• processing, by the first network component, the first signal through data processing components and transmitting the data;
• and
• passing, by the first network component, the second signal through a low pass filter or a band pass filter to obtain one of the RRU control information and the RRU status information.