Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces-Assisted Integrated Access and Backhaul
This work addresses coverage extension in IAB networks for telecommunications, but it appears incremental as it builds on existing models and comparisons without introducing a major breakthrough.
The paper investigates how reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) can extend coverage in integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks, using stochastic geometry models to analyze service coverage probability and comparing scenarios like IAB-only and RIS-assisted backhaul, with simulation results highlighting both opportunities and challenges for implementation.
In this paper, we study the impact of reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs) on the coverage extension of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) networks. Particularly, using a finite stochastic geometry model, with random distributions of user equipments (UEs) in a finite region, and planned hierachical architecture for IAB, we study the service coverage probability defined as the probability of the event that the UEs' minimum rate requirements are satisfied. We present comparisons between different cases including IAB-only, IAB assisted with RIS for backhaul as well as IAB assisted by network controlled repeaters (NCRs). Our investigations focus on wide-area IAB assisted with RIS through the lens of different design architectures and deployments, revealing both conflicts and synergies for minimizing the effect of tree foliage over seasonal changes. Our simulation results reveal both opportunities and challenges towards the implementation of RIS in IAB.