Hash Access in Blockchain Radio Access Networks: Characterization and Optimization

Blockchain radio access network (B-RAN) is a decentralized, trustworthy wireless networking paradigm spurred by distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). In B-RAN, even though the blockchain builds trust in upper layers, the absence of trust between client devices still causes the problem with open access, or the so-called Rogue’s dilemma, and degrades the network performance. Therefore, Hash Access was proposed for B-RAN to address the trust issue between clients and enforce client devices to obey the grant-free access rule. However, the characteristics and performance of Hash Access in B-RAN remain unclear. In this work, we dive deep into the Rogue’s dilemma from a game-theoretic model to emphasize the necessity of Hash Access. We establish an analytical model to comprehensively evaluate the performance of B-RAN using Hash Access regarding transmission success probability, access delay, and network throughput. Based on the analytical model, we further optimize the Hash Access protocol for network throughput and provide useful practical guidelines. Simulation results are presented to validate our proposed model and insights.