A Survey on Integrated Access and Backhaul Networks

Benefiting from the usage of the high-frequency band, utilizing part of the large available bandwidth for wireless backhauling is feasible without considerable performance sacrifice. In this context, integrated access and backhaul (IAB) has been proposed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to reduce the expenses related to the deployment of fiber optics for 5G and beyond networks. In this paper, first, a brief introduction of IAB based on the 3GPP release is presented. Then, the existing research on IAB networks based on 3GPP specifications and possible non-3GPP research extensions are surveyed. The research on non-3GPP extensions includes the integration of IAB networks with other advanced techniques beyond the currently defined protocol stacks, such as the integration of IAB to cache-enabled, optical communication transport, and non-terrestrial networks. Finally, the challenges and opportunities related to the development and commercialization of the IAB networks are discussed.