CNS Core: Small: Collaborative Research: Attaining the New Frontier of Spectral Efficiency with Tradeoffs in Computation Through Cloud Radio Access Networks

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Cloud radio access networks (C-RANs) will be part of the next generation of wireless technology and will provide a leap forward in spectral efficiency. C-RANs promote a fundamental paradigm shift by employing a large number of simple base stations that consist only of radio heads (RRUs), while aggregating the baseband units (BBUs) of multiple base stations together at processing clouds connected through optical fiber or microwave links. This project will harness the potential offered by the centralization of the BBUs and the availability of a large number of distributed RRUs to attain scalable performance gains. This will foster the proliferation and improved penetration of wireless technology by supporting inexpensive, high-quality, ubiquitous energy-efficient spectrum access through emerging C-RAN technologies. The wider adoption of wireless technologies will allow traditionally under-served Americans to have better access to information services, thereby improving the nation's economic welfare. Graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in analytical and empirical research methods, which will improve the training of the nation's workforce. Collaboration will be fostered, and the results of the effort will be shared with the community through workshops focused on C-RAN technology. The research team will engage in activities to reduce the gender-gap in engineering by engaging local women in science and engineering clubs. The project develops a cross-layer approach to the design of scalable and efficient network strategies for C-RANs through a combination of mathematical techniques, exploration of context-specific tradeoffs, and innovative empirical strategies. The project seeks to 1) design optimal, information-theoretic codes and establish fundamental tradeoffs between coordination and communication rates for realistic scenarios; 2) design C-RAN scheduling techniques that cater to these optimal codes, as well as network dynamics, requested content, users' mobility, and radio conditions to provide scalable and efficient solutions for improved wireless communications; and (3) perform experimental prototyping of resulting communication and coding strategies on a C-RAN enabled wireless testbed to provide empirical performance validation and validate the underlying assumptions and models. The project is a holistic effort that will apply and contribute to the fields of information theory, queueing, and game theory as well as mathematical optimization, and empirical wireless research.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.