Fully-Decoupled Radio Access Networks (FD-RAN) Toward 6G
Description
This book serves as a comprehensive introduction to the disruptive Fully Decoupled Radio Access Network (FD-RAN) architecture. A broad spectrum of the key enabling technologies are covered and organized into four themes: Physical Layer Transmission, Resource Management, Cost-efficient Operations, as well as Prototype and Potential Applications. It provides rethinking of network architecture and offers a unique solution to tackle the fundamental challenges and align with future demands of 6G.
FD-RAN has emerged as a promising 6G architecture, with the following design objectives: decoupling, flexibility, simplicity, openness, intelligence, and cooperation. At its core, FD-RAN decomposes traditional base stations into three distinct functional entities: Control Signaling, Uplink Data Transmission, and Downlink Data Transmission. This decoupling enables flexible cooperation and allows independent optimization of uplink and downlink operations, leading to potential resource utilization improvement and network cost reduction.
This book is particularly valuable for professionals, researchers, and stakeholders in academia, industry and standardization bodies, who are engaged in the development of next-generation mobile communication systems. This book presents novel concepts and solutions designed to support a more flexible, efficient, and forward-looking vision for 6G networks. Advanced-level students majoring in communications engineering/computer science can also find valuable content and inspiration from this book.
More details
Persons
Dr. Haibo Zhou (M'14-SM'18-F'26) received the Ph.D. degree in information and communication engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, in 2014. From 2014 to 2017, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow with the Broadband Communications Research Group, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Waterloo. He is currently a Full Professor with the School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China. He was a recipient of the 2019 IEEE ComSoc Asia-Pacific Outstanding Young Researcher Award. He served as Publications/Symposium Co-Chair for IEEE/CIC ICCC 2026, IEEE VTC-Fall 2025, IEEE ICC 2024, and IEEE GLOBECOM 2024.
Dr. Jiacheng Chen received his Ph.D. degree in information and communications engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, in 2018. From 2015 to 2016, he was a visiting scholar at BBCR group, University of Waterloo, Canada. Currently, he is an Associate Researcher in Peng Cheng Laboratory, Shenzhen, China. His research interests include Fully-Decoupled RAN (FD-RAN) and AI-native RAN.
Dr. Yunting Xu received the Bachelor degree and the PhD degree from Nanjing University, China, in 2017 and 2024, respectively. He is currently a Research Fellow with the College of Computing and Data Science (CCDS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He was the TPC member of IEEE VTC-Fall 2022, VTC-Fall 2023, and ICCC 2025. He was the recipient of the IEEE WCSP 2022 best paper award. He mainly focuses on the artificial intelligence and networking optimization in the field of emerging wireless networks.
Dr. Xuemin (Sherman) Shen is a University Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo, specializing in wireless communications and networking. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Engineering Institute of Canada. Professor Shen also serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Internet of Things Journal and Springer Peer-to-Peer Networking and Applications. His research focuses on a wide range of topics in wireless communication networks, including capacity analysis, mobility and radio resource management, quality-of-service provisioning, wireless/Internet interworking, network modeling, and stability and performance analysis. He has also been at the forefront of developing algorithms and protocols for wireless network security and privacy preservation.
Content
.- Introduction to FD-RAN.
.- Physical Layer Transmission in FD-RAN.
.- Resource Management in FD-RAN.
.- Cost-efficient Operations in FD-RAN.
.- Prototype and Potential Applications of FD-RAN.