Abstract
We propose the subsidiarity and weak coupling principles for developing the sixth generation (6G) self-organizing wireless networks. The principles are common in social sciences and control theory, respectively. This proposal leads to organizing the network as a hierarchy of interacting rational agents with vertical and horizontal weak coupling. The central agent provides a performance goal and constraints to the lower level agents that operate almost autonomously in this multi-agent system. The system has various favorable properties, including stability, reliability, and efficiency. Present self-organizing networks are usually distributed without any centralized controller. The lack of a common externally given goal may lead to low performance, staggering behavior, or even chaotic situations. In communications, each transmitter can be interpreted as a rational lower level agent. A principle resembling subsidiarity, the locality principle, is used, for example, in cellular automata, systolic arrays, and edge computing. Subsidiarity is also a solution for the tragedy of the commons where common resources are overused because the costs are divided equally among the users, often with some significant delay. We also provide a historical review that shows each idea's origin because different disciplines use different terminology for similar concepts. Understanding the origins can reduce fragmentation and enhance scientific progress.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | 2021 Joint European Conference on Networks and Communications and 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2021 |
Publisher | IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers |
Pages | 598-603 |
Number of pages | 6 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 978-1-6654-1526-2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 8 Jun 2021 |
MoE publication type | A4 Article in a conference publication |
Event | Joint 30th European Conference on Networks and Communications and 3rd 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2021 - Virtual, Porto, Portugal Duration: 8 Jun 2021 → 11 Jun 2021 |
Conference
Conference | Joint 30th European Conference on Networks and Communications and 3rd 6G Summit, EuCNC/6G Summit 2021 |
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Country/Territory | Portugal |
City | Virtual, Porto |
Period | 8/06/21 → 11/06/21 |
Funding
This article describes the work in the context of the DEDICAT 6G project under the European Union (EU) H2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 101016499). The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not in any way reflect the views of the EU. This work was partly supported by the Academy of Finland 6Genesis grant 318927.
Keywords
- Arbitrator
- Autonomy
- Hierarchy
- Interacting agents
- Leader
- Modularity
- Multi-agent systems
- Self-organizing communication networks
- Subsidiarity
- Tragedy of the commons
- Weakly coupled systems