Large-scale Antenna Operation in Heterogeneous Cloud Radio Access Networks: A Partial Centralization Approach

TL;DR

This paper discusses a partially centralized approach for large-scale antenna operation in heterogeneous cloud radio access networks (H-CRANs), aiming to reduce fronthaul overheads and improve network capacity in 5G systems.

Contribution

It introduces a novel partial centralization method for large-scale antennas in H-CRANs, addressing fronthaul bandwidth limitations and enhancing performance.

Findings

Partially centralized approach significantly reduces fronthaul overheads.

The method improves network capacity and spectral efficiency.

Potential applicability in bandwidth-limited H-CRAN environments.

Abstract

To satisfy the ever-increasing capacity demand and quality of service (QoS) requirements of users, 5G cellular systems will take the form of heterogeneous networks (HetNets) that consist of macro cells and small cells. To build and operate such systems, mobile operators have given significant attention to cloud radio access networks (C-RANs) due to their beneficial features of performance optimization and cost effectiveness. Along with the architectural enhancement of C-RAN, large-scale antennas (a.k.a. massive MIMO) at cell sites contribute greatly to increased network capacity either with higher spectral efficiency or through permitting many users at once. In this article, we discuss the challenging issues of C-RAN based HetNets (H-CRAN), especially with respect to large-scale antenna operation. We provide an overview of existing C-RAN architectures in terms of large-scale antenna operation and promote a partially centralized approach. This approach reduces, remarkably, fronthaul overheads in CRANs with large-scale antennas. We also provide some insights into its potential and applicability in the fronthaul bandwidthlimited H-CRAN with large-scale antennas.