Dynamic Federations for 6G Cell-Free Networking: Concepts and Terminology

TL;DR

This paper introduces the concept of dynamic federations in 6G cell-free networks, addressing practical limitations and proposing new terminology, with demonstrations through testbeds for diverse applications.

Contribution

It presents the novel concept of self-managing, distributed federations for 6G cell-free systems, considering practical constraints and expanding the terminology for system design.

Findings

Four federations demonstrated serving different applications

Two new testbeds introduced for architecture study

Framework addresses practical limitations like synchronization and distributed processing

Abstract

Cell-Free networking is one of the prime candidates for 6G networks. Despite being capable of providing the 6G needs, practical limitations and considerations are often neglected in current research. In this work, we introduce the concept of federations to dynamically scale and select the best set of resources, e.g., antennas, computing and data resources, to serve a given application. Next to communication, 6G systems are expected to provide also wireless powering, positioning and sensing, further increasing the complexity of such systems. Therefore, each federation is self-managing and is distributed over the area in a cell-free manner. Next to the dynamic federations, new accompanying terminology is proposed to design cell-free systems taking into account practical limitations such as time synchronization and distributed processing. We conclude with an illustration with four federations, serving distinct applications, and introduce two new testbeds to study these architectures and concepts.