Making Cellular Networks Crisis-Proof: Towards Island-Ready, Resilient-By-Design 6G Communication Network

TL;DR

This paper proposes a resilient 6G network design that enables local connectivity during regional outages, addressing current vulnerabilities in 5G systems caused by reliance on centralized core networks.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of island-ready, resilient-by-design 6G networks with local connectivity, emphasizing a multi-actor approach and outlining open challenges for implementation.

Findings

Current 5G systems are vulnerable to regional outages.

Decentralizing the 6G core is essential for island readiness.

Local-first application architectures are necessary for resilience.

Abstract

5G and 5G-Advanced cellular networks are vulnerable to regional outages resulting from disasters or targeted attacks. This fragility stems from the reliance on the central core network involved for most 5G connectivity use cases. Crisis-struck regions isolated from the cellular core network form islands, where crisis response is hindered by the unavailability of recovery-relevant services, such as emergency calls, cell broadcasts, messengers, and news apps. Our concept of island-ready, resilient-by-design 6G communication networks envisions local cellular connectivity allowing users to connect to regional application servers, which is currently impossible. In our conceptualization, we follow an all-society approach, as realizing island connectivity requires the cooperation of multiple actors, including users, operators, developers, providers, and authorities. We evaluate how island-ready 5G and 5G-Advanced systems are and outline the open challenges stakeholders must address for full island readiness, such as decentralizing the 6G core network and designing local-first application architectures.