Radio system having distributed real-time processing

A distributed radio system for communication between a wireless user equipment and a network comprising:

• a radio unit configured to:
• transmit outgoing radio frequency signals to the user equipment;
• receive incoming radio frequency signals from the user equipment;
• and
• perform radio-level processing on data associated with received and outgoing signals;
• an intermediate-level processing unit configured to perform intermediate-level processing on data associated with received and outgoing signals;
• a first connection between the radio unit and the intermediate-level processing unit;
• a network-level processing unit configured to perform network-level processing on data associated with received and outgoing signals;
• and
• a second connection between the intermediate-level processing unit and the network-level processing unit, said second connection comprising a network connection;
• wherein the radio unit, the intermediate-level processing unit and the network-level processing unit comprise an integrated, private system, whereby incoming and outgoing signals are processed in a distributed manner within said private system prior to any interaction, if any, with any external environment.