Interacting Federated and Transfer Learning-Aided CSI Prediction for Intelligent Cellular Networks

IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 72, pp. 15776–15787

Abstract

To establish more intelligent cellular networks for future ubiquitous access and heterogeneous devices, we need to obtain channel state information (CSI) in a more agile and economical manner, especially for frequency division duplexing (FDD) massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) architectures. Unlike conventional CSI feedback or limited feedback methods, we can predict downlink CSI by leveraging channel reciprocity between uplink and downlink. The downlink CSI prediction can be formulated as a data-driven deep learning task, however, there exist isolated data silos and online adaptation problem for the offline trained neural network-based models. In this article, we propose an interacting federated and transfer learning (IFTL) based framework for downlink CSI prediction and online update, where several factors including asynchrony of different clients are considered, and light heterogeneity of diverse cells can be tolerated. Both model-level and link-level simulations are conducted under standardized FDD massive MIMO scenarios. The results outline promising prospect and potential of the utilization of federated learning and transfer learning in physical layer of wireless communications.

Authors 6

1. Jinlong Sun

   Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Telecommunications and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China

   Tongding Interconnection Information Company, Ltd., Suzhou, China

2. Yibin Zhang

   Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Telecommunications and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China

3. Guan Gui

   Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Telecommunications and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China

4. Haitao Zhao

   Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Telecommunications and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China

5. Haris Gacanin Aachen Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Communication Technologies and Embedded Systems, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany

6. Hikmet Sari

   Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications

   Affiliation as printed

   College of Telecommunications and Information Engineering, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Nanjing, China