Optimal Planning for Heterogeneous Smart Radio Environments

TL;DR

This paper develops an advanced planning framework for Smart Radio Environments in 6G, optimizing component deployment using realistic models and two novel optimization methods to improve network performance in urban areas.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive planning framework with realistic models and two new optimization algorithms for deploying SRE components in 6G networks.

Findings

Optimized deployment strategies significantly improve coverage and cost efficiency.

The proposed models effectively evaluate the impact of RIS and NCR configurations.

Numerical results demonstrate enhanced network planning in dense urban scenarios.

Abstract

Smart Radio Environment (SRE) is a central paradigms in 6G and beyond, where integrating SRE components into the network planning process enables optimized performance for high-frequency Radio Access Network (RAN). This paper presents a comprehensive planning framework utilizing realistic urban scenarios and precise channel models to analyze diverse SRE components, including Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS), Network-Controlled Repeater (NCR), and advanced technologies like Simultaneous transmitting and reflecting RIS (STAR RIS) and trisectoral NCR (3SNCR). We propose two optimization methods, full coverage minimum cost (FCMC) and maximum budget-constrained coverage (MBCC), that address key cost and coverage objectives by considering both physical characteristics and scalable costs of each component, influenced by factors such as NCR amplification gain and RIS dimensions. Extensive numerical results demonstrate the significant impact of these models in enhancing network planning efficiency for high-density urban environments.