  IAB is an innovative wireless backhaul solution to provide cost-efficient
deployment of small cells for successful 5G adoption. Besides, IAB can utilize
the same spectrum for access and backhaul purposes. The 3GPP standardized IAB
in Release 16 and would incorporate a few enhancements in the upcoming
releases. The 3GPP IAB architecture, however, suffers from some limitations,
such as it does not support mobile relays or dual-connectivity. This article
presents a novel IAB architecture that addresses these limitations and is
transparent to legacy operations of the 5G system. The architecture also
supports multi-RAT coexistence where access and backhaul may belong to
different RATs. These factors (and many others) enable operators to capitalize
on the architecture for deploying IAB anywhere in a plug-and-play manner. We
also show the merits of the architecture by evaluating its capacity and
mobility robustness compared to the 3GPP architecture. Simulation results
corroborate our design approach. Owing its robust design, the architecture can
contend for standardization in B5G system.
