The HetHetNets Framework for 5G+ Wireless Networks: Highly Heterogeneous Traffic, Unprecedented Congestion, and Novel Solutions

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Since the development of 4G LTE standards around 2010, the research communities both in academia and industry have been brainstorming to predict the use cases and scenarios around 2020, to determine the corresponding technical requirements, and to develop the enabling technologies, protocols, and network architectures towards the next-generation (5G) wireless standardization. This exploratory phase is winding down as the 5G standardization phase approaches. The first wave of 5G standards are expected to be developed during the 2017-18 timeframe, to be approved by ITU during the 2019-2020 timeframe, and to become operational in the early 2020s. As such, it is time to reinitiate a similar brainstorming endeavour towards the beyond-5G wireless networks; we refer to such networks as 5G+ in order to include the evolution of the 5G standards in 2020s and to perform the groundwork for those to be developed towards 2030. The proposed research program is geared towards the fundamental problem of the supply-demand mismatch in 5G+ wireless networks. This problem has different significance based on the context and discipline. In the wireless context, the supply is the potential rate that the access network can provide and the demand is the traffic generated by the users and devices. If the total demand in space and time is less than the total potential supply, this results in an obvious shortage. In this case, there is little that can be done, except for either reducing the demand or increasing the supply, or both. A more interesting and relevant case occurs when the network experiences shortage (congestion) despite the total potential supply (in space and time) exceeds the total demand (in space and time). This situation manifests itself when there is a mismatch; i.e., when the demand does not arise where the supply is. In order to analyze the severity of the mismatch problem, it should be checked whether the supply can be storable (in time) or transportable/transferable (in space) in an efficient manner. If the answer is yes to these questions, then the mismatch problem can easily be alleviated. On the other hand, a negative answer signals a difficult problem. In wireless networks, the supply-demand mismatch constitutes a highly critical and serious situation due to the fact that, in general, the supply can neither be stored nor transported. Within the very broad 5G+ paradigm, the objective of the proposed research program is two-fold: Theme I: Developing models to capture the highly heterogeneous traffic scenarios of the future. Theme II: Developing novel and possibly disruptive solutions to alleviate the impact of the resulting unprecedented congestion scenarios in HetHetNets. The proposed research program will contribute to Canada's remaining as an important and competent player in the global ICT area with the creation of the necessary knowledge base and the training of highly-qualified personnel.