2020/06/25 by Charitha Madapatha, Madapatha, Charitha, Behrooz Makki +11 · 3 citations
Engineering · #Advanced MIMO Systems Optimization #FOS: Computer and information sciences #ICT Impact and Policies #Information Theory (cs.IT) #Millimeter-Wave Propagation and Modeling #Networking and Internet Architecture (cs.NI)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2006.14216
openalex publication_date 2020/06/25 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this paper, we introduce and study the potentials and challenges of\nintegrated access and backhaul (IAB) as one of the promising techniques for\nevolving 5G networks. We study IAB networks from different perspectives. We\nsummarize the recent Rel-16 as well as the upcoming Rel-17 3GPP discussions on\nIAB, and highlight the main IAB-specific agreements on different protocol\nlayers. Also, concentrating on millimeter wave-based communications, we\nevaluate the performance of IAB networks in both dense and suburban areas.\nUsing a finite stochastic geometry model, with random distributions of IAB\nnodes as well as user equipments (UEs) in a finite region, we study the service\ncoverage rate defined as the probability of the event that the UEs' minimum\nrate requirements are satisfied. We present comparisons between IAB and hybrid\nIAB/fiber-backhauled networks where a part or all of the small base stations\nare fiber-connected. Finally, we study the robustness of IAB networks to\nweather and various deployment conditions and verify their effects, such as\nblockage, tree foliage, rain as well as antenna height/gain on the coverage\nrate of IAB setups, as the key differences between the fiber-connected and IAB\nnetworks. As we show, IAB is an attractive approach to enable the network\ndensification required by 5G and beyond.\n