Dynamic Service-Based RANs: System Architecture and Use Cases

Future 6G technology needs to meet dynamic requirements in diverse scenarios, as recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The conventional monolithic radio access network (RAN) equipped with dedicated hardware fails to meet the rapid iteration and dynamic requirements of networks. Consequently, there is a need to reform RAN architecture and management strategies. The paper proposes and demonstrates a dynamic service-based RAN. The flexibility of the RAN is enhanced by decoupling network capabilities, including both functional and state decoupling. RAN comprises services that can be independently deployed. These services exhibit stateless characteristics, enabling them to be registered and discovered by the system. Furthermore, the Data Plane and Digital Plane are introduced to efficiently manage highly flexible services, thereby establishing a functional network. Services can be effectively managed to facilitate network orchestration and scaling through on-demand scheduling. The current research examines the differences between static and dynamic networks in their approaches to handling evolving scenarios. By dynamically scaling services to meet user requirements, the network avoids unnecessary scaling of all functions at the RAN level. The dynamic network has been demonstrated to be more efficient and cost-effective in scenarios where the number of users and data rates fluctuate.