Fog-computing-based radio access networks: issues and challenges

TLDR

The article presents Fog‑Radio Access Networks (F‑RANs) as a promising 5G paradigm for high spectral and energy efficiency, outlining their architecture, key techniques, and open research issues. It proposes leveraging edge‑side radio signal processing, cooperative resource management, and distributed storage to offload fronthaul traffic and reduce centralized processing, and details techniques such as transmission mode selection and interference suppression.

Abstract

An F-RAN is presented in this article as a promising paradigm for the fifth generation wireless communication system to provide high spectral and energy efficiency. The core idea is to take full advantage of local radio signal processing, cooperative radio resource management, and distributed storing capabilities in edge devices, which can decrease the heavy burden on fronthaul and avoid large-scale radio signal processing in the centralized baseband unit pool. This article comprehensively presents the system architecture and key techniques of F-RANs. In particular, key techniques and their corresponding solutions, including transmission mode selection and interference suppression, are discussed. Open issues in terms of edge caching, software-defined networking, and network function virtualization are also identified.