[Submitted on 27 Jul 2026]

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Abstract:Wireless fronthaul is a key enabler of flexible and scalable cell-free massive MIMO systems, but its limited capacity poses significant challenges for maintaining high and uniform user performance. In this work, we analyze the performance of a cell-free massive MIMO network with wireless fronthaul under realistic low physical layer functional splits. We propose a joint access and fronthaul resource allocation algorithm that maximizes the minimum user equipment (UE) spectral efficiency while satisfying fronthaul load constraints. Our analysis reveals that power allocation over the wireless fronthaul follows a modified water-filling structure, where the water level is jointly determined by the access and fronthaul channel gains. Furthermore, we show that severe fronthaul limitations not only reduce UE rates but also introduce spatial performance disparities depending on the cloud location. Finally, we demonstrate that split option 8 is impractical under wireless fronthaul constraints, underscoring the importance of dynamic fronthaul bit allocation to reduce fronthaul load and enable efficient system operation.

Submission history

From: Ozan Alp Topal [view email]
[v1] Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:50:55 UTC (210 KB)