BEAT: Blockchain-Enabled Accountable and Transparent Network Sharing in 6G

Abstract

Infrastructure sharing is a widely discussed and implemented approach and is successfully adopted in telecommunications networks today. In practice, it is implemented through prior negotiated service level agreements (SLAs) between the parties involved. However, it is recognized that these agreements are difficult to negotiate, monitor, and enforce. For future 6G networks, resource and infrastructure sharing is expected to play an even greater role. It will be a crucial technique for reducing over-all infrastructure costs and increasing operational efficiencies for operators. More efficient SLA mechanisms are thus crucial to the success of future networks. In this work, we present BEAT, an automated, transparent, and accountable end-to-end architecture for network sharing based on blockchain and smart contracts. This work focuses on a particular type of blockchain, permissioned distributed ledger, due to its permissioned nature allowing for industry-compliant SLAs with stringent governance. Our architecture can be implemented with minimal hardware changes and with minimal overheads.