With the deployment of fifth-generation (5G) wireless networks worldwide, research on sixth-generation (6G) wireless communications has commenced. It is expected that 6G networks can accommodate numerous heterogeneous devices and infrastructures with enhanced efficiency and security over diverse, e.g. spectrum, computing and storage, resources. However, this goal is impeded by a number of trust-related issues that are often neglected in network designs. Blockchain, as an innovative and revolutionary technology that has arisen in the recent decade, provides a promising solution. Building on its nature of decentralization, transparency, anonymity, immutability, traceability and resiliency, blockchain can establish cooperative trust among separate network entities and facilitate, e.g. efficient resource sharing, trusted data interaction, secure access control, privacy protection, and tracing, certification and supervision functionalities for wireless networks, thus presenting a new paradigm towards 6G. This paper is dedicated to blockchain-enabled wireless communication technologies. We first provide a brief introduction to the fundamentals of blockchain, and then we conduct a comprehensive investigation of the most recent efforts in incorporating blockchain into wireless communications from several aspects. Importantly, we further propose a unified framework of the blockchain radio access network (B-RAN) as a trustworthy and secure paradigm for 6G networking by utilizing blockchain technologies with enhanced efficiency and security. The critical elements of B-RAN, such as consensus mechanisms, smart contract, trustworthy access, mathematical modeling, cross-network sharing, data tracking and auditing and intelligent networking, are elaborated. We also provide the prototype design of B-RAN along with the latest experimental results.
Keywords: 6G; blockchain; wireless communication.
© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of China Science Publishing & Media Ltd.