Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant (No 101108094)

Intelligent New Radio Access Network:
Deployment and Management (IRAM)

 

Summary

The fourth industrial revolution is accelerating demand for mobile connectivity through technologies like the Internet of Everything (IoE) and digital twins, driving the evolution of 5G and 6G networks. However, this evolution faces significant cost challenges, particularly in the Radio Access Network (RAN), where traditional deployment models become economically unsustainable. To address this, industry and academia propose Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN) strategies, focusing on dense deployments of low-cost Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) nodes. These nodes provide wireless access and backhauling capabilities without requiring expensive fiber connections or tower leases. Their flexibility allows for deployment on street furniture or mobile platforms like UAVs, enabling adaptive and cost-efficient coverage.

The key to enabling this architecture lies in:

  • Flexible hardware deployment using IAB nodes,
  • Automation and zero-touch operations to handle complex and dynamic network configurations,
  • Vendor interoperability through Open RAN principles.

Research Objectives

The project is conducted at Sabanci University in collaboration with local industry partners and research institute, targets the automated, low-cost deployment and operation of NG-RANs, especially:

  • Unsupervised planning and optimization: Developing scalable, automated techniques to determine optimal node placement, configurations, and network recovery strategies without manual intervention.
  • mmWave fronthauling/backhauling (RP2): Designing reliable, mmWave link resilient to blockage and node failure, considering dynamic topologies and user mobilities.

The research incorporates data-driven approaches, drawing from existing datasets and advanced theoretical frameworks (e.g., random network and information theory) to ensure realistic and impactful outcomes aligned with 3GPP and EU 6G visions.

Outcomes

  • The development of novel mmWave techniques for mobile devices to cope with the short channel coherence time and phase noise (validation through experiment)  

                                           Overcome the phase noise and short channel coherence time

 

Experimental validation

  • The design of a new architecture that relies on redundant links to overcome link interruption for mmWave mobile devices

  • The derivation of the theoretical boundary of the Task-Oriented-Communication for massive connectivity

  • The management of distributed NG-RANs

Publications:

[1] A. A. Oznam, C. Farhati, M. Chraiti, A. Ghrayeb, H. Celebi, F. Abdelkefi, and K. K. Tokgoz, “Bandwidth Expansion in N-fold Frequency Multiplier: Is it N or √N?,” in IEEE Communications Letters, 2025. [Link]

[2] M. Chraiti and O. Ercetin, “On the Space/Time Correlation of mmWave AoAs: Concept and Experimental Validation,” in Proc. IEEE WCNC, 2024. [Link]

[3] O. Ercetin, M. Chraiti and R. E. Karakay, “Consolidate Viability and Information Theories for Task-Oriented Communications: The Case of Remote Power Plants,” in Proc. IEEE EUCNC 6G Summit, 2024. [Link]

[4] M. Chraiti and O. Ercetin, “On the Efficacy of Fingerprint-Based mmWave Beamforming in NLOS Environments: Experimental Validation,” in Proc. IEEE EUCNC 6G Summit, 2024. [Link]

[5] B. Bozkurt, A. M.  Aktas¸ H. A. Ginel, M. Chraiti, A. Gorcin, and I. Hokelek, “Beam Codebook Refinement for mmWave Devices with Random Orientations: Concept and Experimental Validation” in Proc. IEEE WCNC, 2025. [Link]

[6] K. Ibrahim, M. Chraiti, and A. Ghrayeb, “A Moral Hazard Detection Framework: Reinforcing Trust in ORAN” in Proc. IEEE WCNC, 2025. [Link]

Presentations:

P1. Consolidate Viability and Information Theories for Task-Oriented Communications: The Case of Remote Power Plants (EUCNC1-2024)

P2. On the Efficacy of Fingerprint-Based mmWave Beamforming in NLOS Environments: Experimental Validation (EUCN2-2024)

P3. On the Space/Time Correlation of mmWave AoAs: Concept and Experimental Validation (WCNC-2024)

P4. On Advancing mmWave Communications for Mobile Devices (IMDEA-Spain-2024)