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

Abstract

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. INDEX TERMS Mesh networks, millimeter wave communication, blockchain, Ad hoc networks, 5G mobile communication, multimedia communication.

Measurements of Mobile Blockchain Execution Impact on Smartphone Battery

“…The last group is the main focus of this work. The blockchain technology is a potential enabler for different applications executed on personal handheld devices including infrastructure and resource sharing [6,7], exchange of data in untrusted environments [8,9], user incentivization [10][11][12], security and access control [13,14] beyond others.…”

Distributed ledger technology: State-of-the-art and current challenges

“…Finally, the limited spectrum becomes one of the drivers for applying underlying Blockchain technology to incentivize mobile users and operators to share underused li-censed spectrum [58] and/or their computational resources to other nodes in need [78]. Those concepts are expected to find their niche on the Edge and Fog paradigms.…”

“…User incentivization IoT, DA [58], [78] Attracting new users to share limited resources [48] Overcoming barriers between network environments Scalability IoT, DA, GA [11], [38], [79] An increase in the load on the centralized node occurs with an increase in traffic or the number of users All DLT methods, DAG, vDLT, Sharding, Sidechain, and cross-chain Creation of applications, where data exchange is based on the distributed registry principles Identity, security, and data management IoT, IR, GA [28], [45] The identification of an organization's assets (including people, buildings, cars, systems, and information assets) DLT design in system functionality GA [52], [30] Depending on the chosen design, the system may have certain functions.…”

Blockchain Evaluation Approaches: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspective

“…By changing variables and conditions in the implemented simulation model, researchers can make predictions about the behavior of the simulated system without the need for the actual implementation of the entire system. A computer simulation is commonly used when it is a complicated task to accomplish the system emulation and for emulating the blockchain system as part of more complex environments [ 38 ].…”