Wireless Access and Backhaul (WAB) is emerging as a key enabler for flexible and cost-efficient 5G deployments, offering a modular architecture that decouples access and backhaul while supporting multi-technology and mobile backhaul links. This article introduces the WAB framework standardized in 3GPP Release 19, outlining its architecture and operational principles. A practical implementation built with commercial hardware and open-source software demonstrates the feasibility and efficiency of WAB systems. We further explore four representative application scenarios - ranging from on-demand coverage to mobile Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) connectivity - and discuss the technical challenges that must be addressed for large-scale adoption. These insights highlight WAB as a promising foundation for 5G-Advanced and a stepping stone toward future 6G networks.

翻译：无线接入与回传（WAB）正在成为实现灵活且高性价比5G部署的关键使能技术，其模块化架构将接入与回传解耦，同时支持多技术与移动回传链路。本文介绍了3GPP Release 19标准化的WAB框架，概述其架构与运行原理。基于商用硬件与开源软件构建的实践部署展示了WAB系统的可行性与效率。我们进一步探讨了从按需覆盖到移动软件定义广域网（SD-WAN）连接四种代表性应用场景，并分析了实现大规模部署需克服的技术挑战。这些见解表明，WAB不仅是5G-A的坚实基座，更是迈向未来6G网络的重要阶梯。