The Future of Federated X-haul and Wireless Access in 6G Era

The sixth generation of mobile communication (6G) networks has gained significant interest, introducing new use case families. Their requirements for higher bit rate, lower latency, and a higher number of connections will push future mobile networks to a new era in which various novelties related to sensing, positioning, and imaging, as well as intelligent computing, among others, will play critical roles and via their convergence, the network will be able to will support their demands. The integration of techniques developed for wireless communications with those designed for IP/Optical X-haul will be an essential step in realizing the concept of the Federation of the (Cognitive) Digital Twins of the different network (sub)-segments (FDTN). The FDTN will interconnect the various Digital Twins (DT) of the different 6G sub-networks and domains, enabling the sharing of information between them, e.g., data, Machine Learning (ML) models, etc. In this context, this paper discusses the next logical steps, which include the required innovations in the optical and the wireless part of the network as well as the realization of an FDTN to optimize the design and network operation end-to-end, improve the overall network performance, and maximize the overall reliability shaping a seamlessly integrated ultra-energy-efficient Digital-Twin enhanced 6G network over all its segments and domains.