Multi-RAT Fiber-Wireless Technologies towards 6G Networks

At the dawning of the beyond 5G era, broadband last mile connectivity is stimulating rapid developments in optical and wireless technologies that will efficiently handle the traffic generated by mobile users and demanding network applications. To this end, multiple Radio Access (multi-RAT) technologies operating at various millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency bands, e.g., V-/E-/D-band are being actively pursued, in parallel with the investigation of efficient fiber wireless fronthaul schemes, e.g. Analog Radio over Fiber (aRoF) or Intermediate Frequency over Fiber (IFoF), to deliver low-complexity, broadband, last-mile connectivity. However, integration of such novel technologies in an actual mobile network infrastructure remains a challenge, as it needs to support compatibility with the network operators' equipment. The current talk aims to present a holistic Fiber Wireless (FiWi) connectivity, demonstrating the co-existence of Analog and Digital RoF traffic along with flexible, reconfigurable point-to-multipoint connectivity to multi-RAT antenna units. Experimental results on high capacity FiWi fronthaul links operating in the V- (60 GHz) and D- (145 GHz) will be presented. Moreover, end-to-end, integrated real-time traffic and network operation will also be discussed and experimentally presented, indicating a possible technology roadmap towards multi-RAT 6G networks.