GigaMobile: Gigabit Mobile Networking using Incentivised Operator Controlled Device-to-Device Communications

The increasing popularity of smartphones and other mobile devices, where the end user has access to a host of rich multimedia functionality, means that the current mobile network architecture is struggling to meet surging data demands. Smartphone ownership in the UK alone has risen from 38% of the population in early 2010 to 60% in 2013 with the ONS reporting that over 32% of adults now access the Internet using their smartphone every day. This figure is expected to grow significantly in the coming years with Cisco predicting that worldwide demand for mobile data traffic will outstrip fixed data, reaching 11.2 Exabytes per month by 2017. Although the global rollout of 4G networks is well underway, it is unlikely that that 4G alone will be able to service the growing data requirements of mobile users. Furthermore, while voice, data, and compressed streaming media are now the norm, it is future social networking applications which will undoubtedly present mobile network designers and operators with their greatest challenge.

Both Google and Samsung, through their Glass and Galaxy Gear based concepts respectively, have given us a glimpse of some of the exciting new pervasive technologies that will push the boundaries on the maximum rate at which data can be communicated over mobile networks. For example, using Google Glass, users will no longer just shop and download compressed audio and video, instead they will be immersed into a completely new augmented reality in which they can share their immediate perception and senses with friends and colleagues in the cloud. While this technology will revolutionise social networking it will add further stress to already overburdened mobile networks. To avoid future congestion caused by this huge influx of data, a major change in the way mobile networks are setup and operated is required. However, considerable academic, industrial and regulatory challenges remain and this is the focus of the proposed research programme.

To help overcome the future "communications bottleneck" in mobile systems, this project proposes a new paradigm for ultra-high capacity mobile networks by simultaneously and jointly addressing the bandwidth problem and the dynamic network management issues associated with device-to-device communications. Combining the complementary expertise of research teams in Queens University Belfast and Cardiff University, this project will focus on understanding and exploiting incentivised, multimode user equipment operating as an ultra-high capacity underlay network featuring real-time opportunistic adaptive routing all overseen by a context aware mobile network infrastructure.

The significance and potential impact of the proposed project for the UK cannot be overstated. The original concept of using cellular radio based D2D communications to supplement mobile communications has been pioneered in the UK although at the time of conception it would have been difficult to envisage the explosion in data requirements that would occur in the future, particularly from social and multimedia applications, and hence the higher capacity technologies that would be required. It is therefore critical that the UK continues to remain at the forefront of future evolutions in this area and is the first to adopt and implement new cutting-edge technologies that will help address the mobile networking aspect of "the communications bottleneck". The new high capacity D2D links proposed in this project will pave the way for a host as of yet unimagined mobile, gaming and social networking applications which will have the potential to revolutionise society in the UK. According to a recent Gartner report, worldwide revenue from app stores will increase in 2013 by 62%, bringing the total industry revenue to $25 billion dollars. Clearly, using the UK as a test bed for multi-gigabit mobile networking, the mobile apps industry in the UK will gain a significant advantage over their international competitors and be first in line to reap the economic benefits. To further enhance the economic benefits, both institutions will work closely with their respective technology transfer offices and industrial collaborators to ensure the rapid transfer of knowledge to the strategically important ICT sector.

Directly relevant to this call, this project will also aim to maximise impact by addressing the following sub-challenges: Protocols for a 21st Century Internet - the work conducted here, including the channel models and network simulator will inform global standardisation bodies and alliances (such as 3GPP and WiGig) and provide them with the necessary tools and knowledge required to design, test and make recommendations for future wireless protocols and hardware to be used for ultra-high bandwidth D2D communications. Additionally crowd-sourcing of these distributed resources for communication will be addressed; Energy Efficient Communication and Data Systems - by using operator controlled D2D communications, we can off-load some of the traffic from the base station and support efficient data transportation as local data stays local, i.e., doesn't have to routed through the eNodeB. This not only saves power, but also frees up precious data bandwidth and spectrum space. By allowing the D2D communications to be controlled we will also be able to implement judicious adaptive power control mechanisms. Both of these measures will lead to lower power mobile networks, reducing the UK's overall carbon footprint and helping towards future goals in carbon emission; Building Context and Content Aware Networks - by listening to on-going transmissions during idle periods, UEs can build up a picture of surrounding networks which use similar WiGig technology such as operator controlled 'hotspots' in city centres that may provide an alternative route to the cloud. This can then be reported to the eNodeB which in turn can create a synthesis which combines the optimum configuration of all available networks (dependent on data type/content) to route data; Seamless Mode Adaptive Communications - by allowing the operator to control D2D communications we reduce the complexity of the network setup and maintenance associated with truly mobile ad hoc networks. Furthermore, because the operator controls the technology used to implement cellular communications i.e. 2.45/5 or 60 GHz D2D, UE to eNodeB or UE to local WiGig hotspot etc., the switching between networks will completely transparent to the end user.