Applying Blockchain Technology for User Incentivization in mmWave-Based Mesh Networks

Wireless traffic produced by modern mobile devices displays high temporal and spatial dynamics as users spontaneously engage in collective applications where a significant portion of generated data remains localized. As a result, conventional service provisioning approaches may no longer be sufficient in beyond fifth generation (B5G) systems. The challenge of increased dynamics on the access networks can be mitigated with moving cells. However, the deployment time of these temporary serving entities may lag behind the service demand lifetime. Another viable solution to offload excessive cellular traffic is to rely upon locally available radio resources offered by user devices via direct mmWave-based mesh interworking. An important challenge in such systems is related to the incentivization of users to partake in collaborative resource sharing. To leverage multi-hop mesh capabilities, we propose the use of emerging blockchain technology that offers cryptographically-strong accounting while maintaining the anonymity of the participants. With system-level evaluations, we demonstrate that the utilization of mobile blockchain methods allows for a non-incremental improvement in the offloading gains. This demonstrates the potential of the outlined proposal for becoming a successful mechanism in the emerging B5G systems.