# A Comparison between Network-Controlled Repeaters and Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2211.06974 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.06974/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 13 Nov 2022.

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [Channel Estimation in RIS-Enabled mmWave Wireless Systems: A Variational Inference Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.13616/) (2023)
- [Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces-Assisted Integrated Access and Backhaul](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.12011/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Network-controlled repeater (NCR) has been recently considered as a study-item in 3GPP Release 18, and the discussions are continuing in a work-item. In this paper, we introduce the concept of NCRs, as a possible low-complexity device to support for network densification and compare the performance of the NCRs with those achieved by reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RISs). The results are presented for the cases with different beamforming methods and hardware impairment models of the RIS. Moreover, we introduce the objectives of the 3GPP Release 18 NCR work-item and study the effect of different parameters on the performance of NCR-assisted networks. As we show, with a proper deployment, the presence of NCRs/RISs can improve the network performance considerably.