Beyond 5G: 3D Network Modelling for THz-based Ultra-Fast Small Cells

Project Information

5G-ACE

Grant agreement ID: 839573

DOI

10.3030/839573

Project closed

EC signature date 15 April 2019

Start date 1 September 2019

End date 31 August 2021

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Total cost

€ 224 933,76

EU contribution

€ 224 933,76

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH WALES PRIFYSGOLDE CYMRU
United Kingdom

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - 5G-ACE (Beyond 5G: 3D Network Modelling for THz-based Ultra-Fast Small Cells)

Reporting period: 2019-09-01 to 2021-08-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Challenges and Objectives
The initial 5G deployment phase (2020) is already underway where 5G services are being rolled-out throughout Europe where Swisscom became the first carrier to launch 5G followed suit by the UKs EE and Vodafone. However, looking towards the future telephony landscape, so called Beyond 5G (B5G), future markets are targeting tactile speed applications such as remote surgery and automated production lines. This will require Terabit speeds, that can only be accomplished with even smaller cell sizes and resorting to larger Terahertz (THz) bandwidths. Beyond 5G depicts an ultra-dense network of THz-based small cells, that go beyond legacy 2D (two dimensional) deployment and aims to provide beyond 5G services to skyrise buildings. This will require mobile stakeholders to review the way current mobile networks are modelled and deployed for optimising mobile coverage.

In this context, the project objectives include:

• New 3D Models for THz Mobile Systems: Typical models are based on Poisson Point Processes (PPP) to evaluate coverage probability in cellular networks, that assumes homogeneous base stations and users in the 2D plane. They offer mathematical tractability, but are not completely representative of practical networking scenarios. Going beyond the initial 5G launch, richer deployment scenarios are envisaged, including 3D urban environments and THz-based small cells. This will require us to revisit current stochastic geometry modelling tools for characterising small cell deployment within a 3D setting.

• Characterizing Novel B5G Scenarios for Experimentation: Simulations are pivotal for the research and standardization. At this stage, although prototypes naturally deliver the most reliable results, they are typically not available and testing different candidate features would be too expensive. In this context, we build on system level simulation methodologies and platform to emulate and validate the analytical 3D network models for THz-based small cells.


What is the intended of this knowledge ?

The beyond 5G landscape aims to build on the initial 5G deployment phase (2020) envisaging an ultra-dense network of THz-based small cells, that go beyond legacy 2D (two dimensional) deployment and aims to provide 5G services to skyrise buildings and high altitude platforms. To transform this vision into a living reality, requires dedicated research and innovation enabled through modelling the mobile landscape exploiting analytical and experimental approaches prior to prototype development. This creates a gap for novel experimental tools that allow mobile stakeholders to evaluate radio protocols within a B5G ecosystem prior to practical field trials.

5GACE aims to develop new network modelling approaches for THz based mobile communication platforms to allow mobile stakeholders to evaluate advanced radio communication protocols within a self-contained analytical and system level simulation environment. This will enable validation studies on research concepts before migrating the technology to the prototyping phase where experimentation through field trials can pose significant risk.

Who will benefit and how ?

Mobile operators, vendors and the academic research community are likely to benefit from this new technology.
• Operators and vendors will have an experimentation platform where to evaluate advanced 5G radio protocols and network deployments for proof-of-concept, whose results can impact the standardization community.
• Research community will have an analytical multi-tier networking tool that can be used to provide new know how for advancing research on the topic of wireless communications, and provide new teaching material for the academic classroom.

Contribution to EU policy ?
5G-ACE roadmap targets an innovative product for the 5G landscape, being as such the vehicle to increase the competitiveness of the European mobile operators by enabling new insights into energy efficient protocol design thus taking a step towards reducing the energy and cost per transmitted bit in future emerging mobile systems. This is aligned with a key societal issue in Europe, where the Europe 2020 vision aims to become smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. 5G-ACE is foreseen as enabling technology towards autonomous smart green mobile network, which will inevitably lead to a reduction in the CO2 footprint of mobile networks.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

• 3D Network Modelling for THz Mobile Systems:
Typical models are based on Poisson Point Processes (PPP) to evaluate coverage probability in cellular networks, that assumes homogeneous base stations and users in the 2D plane. They offer mathematical tractability, but are not completely representative of practical networking scenarios. Going beyond the initial 5G launch, richer deployment scenarios are envisaged, including 3D urban environments and THz-based small cells. 5GACE revisited current stochastic geometry modelling tools for characterising small cell deployment within a 3D setting.

• System Level Simulation for Beyond 5G Networks:
Simulations are pivotal for the research and standardization. At this stage, although prototypes naturally deliver the most reliable results, they are typically not available and testing different candidate features would be too expensive. In this context, we exploit and build on a commercial system level simulator to emulate and validate the analytical 3D network models for THz-based small cells.

The work performed led to the following scientific outcomes:
• New insights into the characterisation of 3D Network Models for THz Mobile Systems based on the TCP (Thomas Cluster Process) that includes accounting for the elevation angle and practical user distributions within hotspot deployments.
• Development of an experimentation tool for testing 6G algorithms/protocols, that we refer to as the 5G-ACE system level simulator. This will be of interest to all research stakeholders such as academics, operators and vendors aiming to make progressive steps on 6G research.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

Urban network deployments are decidedly non-flat, yet the de facto approach from stochastic geometry treats all transmitters and receivers as living on a 2D plane. In stochastic geometry network models, tiers of base stations are modelled as independent point processes, the key benefits being mathematical tractability. However, a network model with a homogeneous distribution profile will show no spatial correlation between base stations resulting in unrealistic models that deviate from practical network deployments; i.e. small cell clustering shows properties of spatial attraction between transmitter points to represent coverage for user-centric hotspot areas, whilst macro cell coverage must show a degree of repulsion to minimise interference, in addition to being a more representative profile for rural environments.

The 5GACE project goes beyond the current state-of-the-art by:
• Extending the legacy 2D network modelling approach towards 3D deployment scenarios, that aims to include spatial coupling between transmitters within a volumetric space using stochastic geometry.
• A novel 6G experimental tool for characterizing coverage and rates achieved in dense urban deployments based on small cell technology at THz frequencies. The tool builds on 5G technology to integrate 3D channel models and deployment scenarios.

5GACE Scenario