Liquid Wireless Networking for Real-Time Data-Intensive Rural Applications

Rural broadband is a foundation for rural economy and quality of life, and many rural applications require real-time data-intensive communications. To address the rural broadband challenge, wireless networks are essential building blocks. However, rural wireless is subject to environmental factors such as weather, terrain, foliage, and crop types and densities, and there exist complex network dynamics and uncertainties (e.g., spatiotemporal uncertainties of wireless links). To support real-time data-intensive rural applications in the presence of complex, fast-varying network dynamics and uncertainties, this project proposes the Real-Time Liquid Wireless Networking (RT-LWN) framework where application data are encoded using fountain codes and then delivered across rRANs and rHauls with per-packet probabilistic real-time guarantees. The liquidity of fountain-encoded data, together with a field-deployable approach to predictable per-packet probabilistic real-time communication guarantee across wireless access and backhaul, enables efficient, real-time delivery of each source block while fully leveraging the aggregate capacity of heterogeneous wireless networks in the presence of fast-varying dynamics and uncertainties. This is accomplished by pursuing the following coherent research aims: 1) Real-time liquid transport, 2) Real-time liquid communications across wireless access and backhaul, 3) Predictable wireless access with per-packet probabilistic real-time guarantees, and 4) Rural wireless link measurement and modeling.

This research is supported by a grant from NSF, the National Science Foundation. The work is in collaboration with scientists from Boston University and Iowa State University.