Enabling multi-service radio access networks with Massive MIMO

通过大规模 MIMO 实现多服务无线接入网络

• 批准号: MR/Y020065/1
• 负责人: Anvar Tukmanov
• 金额: $ 72.17万
• 依托单位: BT Group (United Kingdom)
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Fellowship
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2024 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FY020065%2F1
• 关键词: Enabling; multi; service; radio; access

Wireless connectivity is currently considered a de-facto capability, enabling people and machines to communicate. Range of applications supported by such Radio Access Networks (RAN) ranges from voice and video calling, content streaming services, banking, cloud data storage, navigation and many more. The volume of data carried by cellular networks delivering the connectivity for such applications grows approximately by 40% every year, which means the data traffic approximately doubles every two years, according to Ofcom. Research and development effort within industry and academia has been focussed on technologies capable of meeting this growing demand for capacity, delivering innovations in digital signal processing, computer science, optical transmission, circuitry, and antenna technology. Spectral efficiency, which is the amount of information that can be carried in a radio channel, has been the key focus for such inter-disciplinary effort since radio spectrum is a scarce resource and has to be used efficiently. Active Antenna Systems (AAS, also referred to as Massive MIMO) is the latest generation of base station technology for mobile networks delivering increased spectral efficiency by combining innovations and experience from multiple disciplines. AAS are already being rolled out as part of 5G network deployments globally and will continue to play a key role in future generations of mobile networks. However, in order for investment in mobile networks to be viable, more services need to be able to use mobile network efficiently, calling for support for multiple services to be concurrently delivered over the same cellular infrastructure. Practical potential of AAS to concurrently deliver multiple services is the focus of the original FLF.Sustainability has emerged as a key theme in recent years with a view to reduce carbon emissions by a substantial amount to help reverse the negative impact of industrialisation on the climate. In mobile networks this has resulted in energy efficiency (EE) becoming a key design objective. With 0.8% of the overall UK energy consumption falling on BT network alone, finding both short and long-term solutions to this challenge is of critical importance. The specific challenge for RAN is to minimise the consumption of electrical power while also meeting increasing demand for diverse connectivity services.This project will focus on ambitious enhancements to practical mobile network. The aim of the renewed fellowship is to increase the practical EE of diverse connectivity services provided by mobile networks - from traditional delivery of bits over the wireless interface, to provision of non-data bearing services such as positioning. To achieve this goal, the project will establish practical EE benchmarks for data and service provision in current mobile networks, and then assess and develop approaches to improve the EE, both in short and long term. Specifically, technologies such as muting of transmitters, sending base stations to varying states of sleep will be considered as reference capabilities available in short term, while the use of AI to tailor transmission technology and the use of energy-efficient waveforms with be considered as longer-term research objective aiming the development of 6G air interface.Applications and benefits from this project will include benchmarks for EE gains from key technology choices under practical operating conditions and constraints. This will enable a realistic assessment of potential contribution to sustainable RAN, and also help design EE-native communication and network deployment strategies for 5G and 6G RAN.

无线连接目前被认为是一种事实上的功能，使人和机器能够进行通信。此类无线接入网络 (RAN) 支持的应用范围包括语音和视频通话、内容流服务、银行、云数据存储、导航等等。据 Ofcom 称，为此类应用提供连接的蜂窝网络所承载的数据量每年增长约 40%，这意味着数据流量大约每两年翻一番。工业界和学术界的研究和开发工作一直集中在能够满足日益增长的容量需求的技术上，从而在数字信号处理、计算机科学、光传输、电路和天线技术方面实现创新。频谱效率，即无线电信道中可以承载的信息量，一直是此类跨学科工作的重点，因为无线电频谱是稀缺资源，必须有效利用。有源天线系统（AAS，也称为大规模 MIMO）是用于移动网络的最新一代基站技术，通过结合多个学科的创新和经验来提高频谱效率。 AAS 已作为 5G 网络部署的一部分在全球范围内推出，并将继续在未来几代移动网络中发挥关键作用。然而，为了使移动网络投资可行，更多的服务需要能够有效地使用移动网络，这就需要支持通过同一蜂窝基础设施同时提供多种服务。 AAS 同时提供多种服务的实际潜力是最初 FLF 的重点。近年来，可持续性已成为一个关键主题，旨在大幅减少碳排放，帮助扭转工业化对气候的负面影响。在移动网络中，这导致能源效率 (EE) 成为一个关键的设计目标。仅 BT 网络就占英国总能源消耗的 0.8%，因此找到应对这一挑战的短期和长期解决方案至关重要。 RAN 面临的具体挑战是最大限度地减少电力消耗，同时满足对多样化连接服务日益增长的需求。该项目将重点关注对实际移动网络的雄心勃勃的增强。新奖学金的目的是提高移动网络提供的各种连接服务的实际EE——从通过无线接口传输传统的比特，到提供定位等非数据承载服务。为了实现这一目标，该项目将为当前移动网络中的数据和服务提供建立实用的能效基准，然后评估和开发短期和长期改善能效的方法。具体来说，发射机静音、将基站设置为不同睡眠状态等技术将被视为短期内可用的参考能力，而使用人工智能定制传输技术和使用节能波形则被视为长期可用的参考能力。 - 旨在开发 6G 空中接口的长期研究目标。该项目的应用和效益将包括在实际操作条件和限制下从关键技术选择中获得 EE 收益的基准。这将能够对可持续 RAN 的潜在贡献进行现实评估，并有助于设计 5G 和 6G RAN 的 EE 原生通信和网络部署策略。