mmCell: Enabling Next Generation Cellular Networking via mmWave

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Cellular networks suffer from two fundamental problems: (i) wireless spectrum scarcity, and (ii) inefficiency of the existing centralized architecture. The scarcity problem is tackled by going beyond the current sub-6GHz frequencies and exploiting extremely high-frequency bands (30-300 GHz), i.e., millimeter Wave (mmWave) band [3]. The inefficiency of the existing architecture can be solved by decentralization. In the legacy architecture, the base station relays all communications from the transmitter to the receiver. Eliminating this man-in-the-middle enhances the efficiency significantly and allows direct communication between the transmitter and the receiver, i.e., Device-to-Device (D2D) communication.Although the solutions to the above problems seem intuitive, there are significant challenges to ahead of such solutions. On the one hand, mmWave bands suffer from severe signal attenuation making long range and non-line-of-sight communications -both essential to cellular networks- very challenging. On the other hand, D2D communication demands sophisticated interference control, resource allocation, and privacy/security provisioning which is hard to support in the existing network design. In mmCell, we present a realistic pathway to address these fundamental problems. We propose solutions to the problems of mmWave D2D communication in cellular networks with special focus MAC layer aspects, e.g., discovery, scheduling, energy efficiency, and mobility. In this proposal, we leverage analytical tools such as game theory and machine learning for system modeling and optimization. Going beyond theory, we will empirically validate the analytical solutions via the state-of-the-art Software-Defined Radio (SDR) platforms. In particular, this proposal aims to facilitate mmWave D2D support for cellular networks.