Blockchain-enabled Network Sharing for O-RAN in 5G and Beyond
Lorenza Giupponi, Francesc Wilhelmi

TL;DR
This paper proposes a blockchain-enabled architecture for secure, automated, and trustworthy network sharing in 5G O-RAN environments, addressing scalability and trust issues with simulation validation.
Contribution
It introduces a novel blockchain-based framework for dynamic RAN resource exchange in O-RAN, enhancing automation, trust, and reliability in network sharing.
Findings
Blockchain improves trustworthiness and automation in RAN sharing.
Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.
Open-source simulation platform supports future research and validation.
Abstract
The innovation provided by network virtualization in 5G, together with standardization and openness boosted by the Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN) Alliance, has paved the way to a collaborative future in cellular systems, driven by flexible network sharing. Such advents are expected to attract new players like content providers and verticals, increasing competitiveness in the telecom market. However, scalability and trust issues are expected to arise, given the criticality of ownership traceability and resource exchanging in a sharing ecosystem. To address that, we propose integrating blockchain technology for enabling mobile operators and other players to exchange RAN resources (e.g., infrastructure) in the form of virtual network functions (VNF) autonomously and dynamically. Blockchain will provide automation, robustness, trustworthiness, and reliability to mobile networks, thus…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAdvanced Wireless Communication Technologies · Cooperative Communication and Network Coding · Caching and Content Delivery
