mCRAN: A Radio Access Network Architecture for 5G Indoor Communications

Millimeter wave (mmWave) communication is being seen as a disruptive technology for 5G era. In particular, 60 GHz frequency band has emerged as a promising candidate for multi-Gbps connectivity in indoor and hotspot areas. In terms of network architecture, cloud radio access network (CRAN) has emerged as the most promising architectural alternative to enable efficient baseband processing and dynamic resource allocation in 5G communications. In this article, we propose micro-CRAN (mCRAN) -a multi-gigabit indoor network architecture which leverages availability of high bandwidth in 60 GHz frequency band. We have discussed in detail about the requirements and research challenges for various system modules for mCRAN based network architecture. We have also investigated the feasibility of IEEE 802.11ad MAC protocol for the proposed mCRAN architecture. We discuss the challenges related to 60 GHz beam-forming, medium access mechanisms and network architecture, and propose solutions to address them.