End-to-End Simulation of 5G Networks Assisted by IRS and AF Relays

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive ns-3 simulation framework to evaluate the effectiveness of IRS and AF relays in enhancing 5G network coverage and performance, considering full-stack protocol interactions.

Contribution

It introduces a novel end-to-end simulation platform for IRS and AF relays in 5G networks, analyzing their potential to improve coverage and scalability.

Findings

IRS/AF can effectively relay 5G traffic

Simulation results guide IRS/AF node dimensioning

Potential for energy-efficient 5G coverage enhancement

Abstract

The high propagation and penetration loss experienced at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies requires ultra-dense deployments of 5th generation (5G) base stations, which may be infeasible and costly for network operators. Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) has been proposed to partially address this issue, even though raising concerns in terms of power consumption and scalability. Recently, the research community has been investigating Intelligent Reflective Surfaces (IRSs) and Amplify-and-Forward (AF) relays as more energy-efficient alternatives to solve coverage issues in 5G scenarios. Along these lines, this paper relies on a new simulation framework, based on ns-3, to simulate IRS/AF systems with a full-stack, end-to-end perspective, with considerations on to the impact of the channel model and the protocol stack of 5G NR networks. Our goal is to demonstrate whether these technologies can be used to relay 5G traffic requests and, if so, how to dimension IRS/AF nodes as a function of the number of end users.