This talk discusses the recent breakthroughs and challenges in transforming memory into data rates for wireless communication networks. Recent research has offered profound progress toward understanding the inner workings of cache-aided downlink communications. In some astounding instances, this research suggests that preemptive use of distributed data-storage at the receiving communication nodes can offer unprecedented throughput gains by efficiently handling the majority of interference. This thematic talk will argue that while indeed multi-antenna arrays have been without a doubt the driving force behind advanced communications technologies, we are now presented with a new, highly abundant, and highly complementary resource in the form of the ever-increasing storage capabilities available across communicating nodes. In addressing this (often contentious) topic, the talk will seek to answer a simple question: Under a fixed set of antenna and SNR resources, what is the multiplicative boost in the throughput of downlink MISO systems --- where these systems can themselves naturally enjoy optimized exploitation of multiplexing and beamforming gains --- when we are now allowed to add reasonably-sized receiver-side storage capabilities?
This talk will also advocate that any such gains come at a time when there is an abundance of paradigm-shifting applications that demand new solutions. Such a new application involves for example immersive extended reality environments, which are considered by many to be a main 6G driver. In the talk, I will highlight challenging theoretical and practical open problems, including various mathematical challenges (of combinatorial nature or otherwise) whose resolution would undoubtedly have a direct impact on the performance of real multi-antenna systems. The main purpose for offering this talk is to gently advocate that research in the direction of unearthing the hidden duality between PHY and the preemptive use of memory, has the potential to directly translate the continuously increasing data-storage capabilities, into gains of wireless network capacity.
