On the joint optimisation of radio access and backhaul networks

Abstract

The distinction between the radio access network and the backhaul network is disappearing with emerging advanced features. The backhaul is invading the radio assess spectrum to enable wireless in-band connections and the radio network is overlapping with the transport network through cloud processing and distributed functions. As such, it is of pivotal importance to approach the optimisation of the radio and transport networks jointly to avoid suboptimum operation and problem shifting. In this work, we present a critical analysis of the motivations, state-of-the-art advances, and potential benefits and challenges of joint RAN/backhaul optimisation.