Tuesday 08 April 2025
Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) have been hailed as a potential game-changer for wireless communication, allowing for more efficient and reliable data transfer between devices. But what happens when multiple operators start deploying RISs in the same area? A new study sheds light on how these surfaces can interact with each other, and the implications are fascinating.
The researchers behind this study started by examining the scenario where two mobile operators deploy RISs to serve their respective user bases. They found that even if these operators don’t cooperate with each other, the presence of an out-of-band (OOB) RIS deployed by one operator doesn’t degrade the performance of another operator’s in-band RIS. In fact, the OOB RIS can actually enhance the signal strength at some points.
This might seem counterintuitive at first, but it makes sense when you consider the physics involved. RISs work by reflecting and reconfiguring radio waves to optimize their path towards a receiver. When multiple operators deploy RISs in close proximity, they effectively create a complex web of signals that can interact with each other.
The researchers used simulations to model this interaction and found that as long as the OOB RIS is deployed at a sufficient distance from the operator’s own RIS, it can actually improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for users in the operator’s coverage area. This is because the OOB RIS can amplify or cancel out signals that would otherwise interfere with the operator’s own transmissions.
But what about the case where multiple operators deploy RISs in the same area? The study found that as the number of operators increases, so too does the potential for interference between their respective RISs. However, this doesn’t necessarily lead to a decrease in overall performance. In fact, the researchers found that the gain in SNR from each additional operator’s RIS can actually outweigh the losses due to increased interference.
The implications of these findings are significant. For one, it suggests that operators don’t need to worry about coordination or cooperation with their competitors when deploying RISs. Each operator can simply optimize its own RIS for maximum performance, without worrying about how it will affect other operators’ networks.
At the same time, this study highlights the potential benefits of a more collaborative approach to RIS deployment.
Cite this article: “Unlocking the Power of Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces: A Study on Inter-Operator Cooperation in mmWave Networks”, The Science Archive, 2025.
Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces, Wireless Communication, Mobile Operators, Radio Waves, Signal Strength, Signal-To-Noise Ratio, Interference, Snr, Ris Deployment, Cooperation.
