Dual-Tier IRS-Assisted Mid-Band 6G Mobile Networks: Robust Beamforming and User Association

Abstract

The rapid growth of Internet of Things (IoT) applications necessitates robust resource allocation in future sixth-generation (6G) networks, particularly at the upper mid-band (7-15 GHz, FR3). This paper presents a novel intelligent reconfigurable surface (IRS)-assisted framework combining terrestrial IRS (TIRS) and aerial IRS (AIRS) mounted on low-altitude platform stations, to ensure reliable connectivity under severe line-of-sight (LoS) blockages. Distinguishing itself from prior work restricted to terrestrial IRS and mmWave and THz bands, this work targets the FR3 spectrum, the so-called Golden Band for 6G. The joint beamforming and user association (JBUA) problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP), solved through problem decomposition, zero-forcing beamforming, and a stable matching algorithm. Comprehensive simulations show our method approaches exhaustive search performance with significantly lower complexity, outperforming existing greedy and random baselines. These results provide a scalable blueprint for real-world 6G deployments, supporting massive IoT connectivity in challenging environments.