FSO-Based Vertical Backhaul/Fronthaul Framework for 5G+ Wireless Networks
Type
ArticleKAUST Department
Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) DivisionElectrical Engineering Program
Date
2018-01-12Online Publication Date
2018-01-12Print Publication Date
2018-01Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/627253
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The presence of a super high rate, but also cost-efficient, easy-to-deploy, and scalable, back-haul/fronthaul framework, is essential in the upcoming 5G wireless networks and beyond. Motivated by the mounting interest in unmanned flying platforms of various types, including UAVs, drones, balloons, and HAPs/MAPs/LAPs, which we refer to as networked flying platforms (NFPs), for providing communications services, and by the recent advances in free space optics (FSO), this article investigates the feasibility of a novel vertical backhaul/fronthaul framework where the NFPs transport the backhaul/fronthaul traffic between the access and core networks via point-to-point FSO links. The performance of the proposed innovative approach is investigated under different weather conditions and a broad range of system parameters. Simulation results demonstrate that the FSO-based vertical backhaul/fronthaul framework can offer data rates higher than the baseline alternatives, and thus can be considered a promising solution to the emerging backhaul/fronthaul requirements of the 5G+ wireless networks, particularly in the presence of ultra-dense heterogeneous small cells. This article also presents the challenges that accompany such a novel framework and provides some key ideas toward overcoming these challenges.Citation
Alzenad M, Shakir MZ, Yanikomeroglu H, Alouini M-S (2018) FSO-Based Vertical Backhaul/Fronthaul Framework for 5G+ Wireless Networks. IEEE Communications Magazine 56: 218–224. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2017.1600735.Sponsors
This work was supported in part by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR), Libya, through the Libyan-North American Scholarship Program, in part by Huawei Technologies Canada, and in part by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovations Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence Program.Journal
IEEE Communications MagazinearXiv
1607.01472Additional Links
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8255764/ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1109/MCOM.2017.1600735