ADVANCED RADIO ACCESS NETWORK FEATURING FLEXIBLE PER-UE SERVICE PROVISIONING AND COLLABORATIVE MOBILE EDGE COMPUTING

Enriched by numerous technological advances, radio access networks (RANs) in the fifth mobile networks generation (5G)-and-beyond strive to meet the goals of both mobile network operators (MNOs) and end-users. While MNOs seek efficiency, resiliency, reliability and flexibility of their networks, end-users are more concerned with the variety and quality of the provided, state-of-the-art, reasonably priced services. This has resulted in a complex, multi-tier, and heterogeneous RAN architecture that is severely challenged to achieve and maintain a strict reliability requirement of seven-nines (i.e., 99.99999% network up-time) and to meet ultra-reliable, low latency communications (URLLC) requirements with a latency upper bound of 1 ms end-to-end roundtrip time. Based on the flexible function split concept and data-plane programmability, this dissertation makes several key contributions to the body of knowledge on advanced, service-oriented RANs in two key core components. The first core component pertains to improving fronthaul efficiency, resiliency, flexibility, and latency performance with a cross-layer integration of Analog-Option-9 function split in the flexible fronthaul paradigm. Within the folds of that, the novel cross-layer digital-analog integration is experimentally investigated to pave the way for promising analog technologies to find their niche in 5G-and-beyond. The second core component is related to the design of lightweight, fronthaul-positioned multi-access edge computing (MEC) units to host Cooperative-URLLC applications at the edge of the fronthaul. Hence, from the vertical perspective, the dissertation provides solutions to support general URLLC applications and the Cooperative-URLLC variation by shrinking and eliminating latency sources at the Top-of-RAN and Low-RAN segments of advanced RANs.Ph.D