Summary
Mobile networks can share resources to work better together, but it is hard to trust each other when they are run by different companies. The authors created a system that uses blockchain, which is a secure digital ledger, to help these companies schedule and share their network resources fairly and transparently. They designed special computer programs called smart contracts to manage registration, status updates, scheduling, and payments. They also developed a way to predict how well this system works and tested it with simulations, showing that as more operators and users join, everyone benefits more. This approach could help mobile networks cooperate safely and efficiently.
Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN)Proportional Fair Scheduling (PFS)BlockchainSmart ContractsCross-operator schedulingResource poolingThroughputSolidityAnalytical frameworkInter-network coordination
Authors
Kun Huang, Xintong Ling, Meining Wu, Jiaheng Wang, Zhi Ding, Xiqi Gao
Abstract
The openness and disaggregation of Open radio access network (O-RAN) facilitate resource sharing and coordination across networks, creating new demands for efficient and trustworthy cross-operator scheduling. However, such scheduling is beyond the scope and capability of conventional proportional fair scheduling (PFS), which lacks mechanisms for establishing trust among independent operators. To fulfill this gap, we propose the blockchain-based proportional fair scheduling (BC-PFS) that enables trustworthy inter-network coordination and resource pooling across operators in O-RAN. Specifically, we design four core smart contracts including registration, status reporting, scheduling, and settlement contracts with corresponding Solidity implementations to ensure trustworthy on-chain execution. Theoretically, to evaluate the BC-PFS performance, we develop an analytical framework to derive the user average throughput via both probabilistic and ordinary differential equation (ODE) approaches, and provide a simplified closed-form solution. Based on the above performance assessment, we quantify the pooling effect in O-RAN achieved through trustworthy cross-operator collaboration via BC-PFS, and point out that this effect grows monotonically in both the numbers of operator networks and users. Simulations validate the theoretical analysis and show the performance of the BC-PFS in O-RAN.