mCRAN: A Radio Access Network Architecture for 5G Indoor Communications

Conference paper (2015)

Authors

K.C. Joshi Embedded Systems - EEMCS
Zizheng Cao Eindhoven University of Technology
Tom Bruintjes University of Twente
Ranga Rao Venkatesha Prasad Embedded Systems - EEMCS
Eduward Tangdiongga Eindhoven University of Technology
H.P.A. van den Boomand Eindhoven University of Technology
A.B.J. Kokkeler University of Twente
Research Group
Embedded Systems (EEMCS) (TU Delft)
More Info
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Published Date

01-06-2015

Language

English

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Faculty

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science

Department

Software Technology

Research Group

Embedded Systems

Abstract

Millimeter wave (mmWave) communication is being seen as a disruptive technology for 5G era. In particular, 60GHz frequency band has emerged as a promising candidate for multi-Gbps connectivity in indoor and hotspot areas. In terms of network architecture, cloud radio access network (CRAN) has emerged as the most promising architectural alternative to enable efficient baseband processing and dynamic resource allocation in 5G communications. In this article, we propose micro-CRAN (mCRAN) -a multi-gigabit indoor network architecture which leverages availability of high bandwidth in 60GHz frequency band. We have discussed in detail about the requirements and research challenges for various system modules for mCRAN based network architecture. We have also investigated the feasibility of IEEE 802.11ad MAC protocol for the proposed mCRAN architecture. We discuss the challenges related to 60GHz beamforming, medium access mechanisms and network architecture, and propose solutions to address them.