A distributed radio frequency communication system facilitates communication between wireless terminals and a core network. The system includes a group of remote radio units (RRUs). Each RRU of the group of RRUs is coupled to an antenna to communicate with at least some of the mobile terminals and includes electronic circuitry to perform at least a first portion of a first-level protocol of a radio access network (RAN) and communicate over a fronthaul link. The system also includes a baseband unit (BBU) coupled to the core network and the fronthaul link, and communicably coupled to the group of RRUs over the fronthaul link. The BBU includes electronic circuitry to assign one or more RRUs, selected from the group of RRUs, to a cluster of RRUs based on one or more parameters, and to perform at least a second-level protocol of the RAN.