HeterCSI: Channel-Adaptive Heterogeneous CSI Pretraining Framework for Generalized Wireless Foundation Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Zhang, Chenyu, Lyu, Xinchen, Ren, Chenshan, Liu, Shuhan, Cui, Qimei, Tao, Xiaofeng
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Zhang, Chenyu
Lyu, Xinchen
Ren, Chenshan
Liu, Shuhan
Cui, Qimei
Tao, Xiaofeng
author_facet Zhang, Chenyu
Lyu, Xinchen
Ren, Chenshan
Liu, Shuhan
Cui, Qimei
Tao, Xiaofeng
contents Wireless foundation models promise transformative capabilities for channel state information (CSI) processing across diverse 6G network applications, yet face fundamental challenges due to the inherent dual heterogeneity of CSI across both scale and scenario dimensions. However, current pretraining approaches either constrain inputs to fixed dimensions or isolate training by scale, limiting the generalization and scalability of wireless foundation models. In this paper, we propose HeterCSI, a channel-adaptive pretraining framework that reconciles training efficiency with robust cross-scenario generalization via a new understanding of gradient dynamics in heterogeneous CSI pretraining. Our key insight reveals that CSI scale heterogeneity primarily causes destructive gradient interference, while scenario diversity actually promotes constructive gradient alignment when properly managed. Specifically, we formulate heterogeneous CSI batch construction as a partitioning optimization problem that minimizes zero-padding overhead while preserving scenario diversity. To solve this, we develop a scale-aware adaptive batching strategy that aligns CSI samples of similar scales, and design a double-masking mechanism to isolate valid signals from padding artifacts. Extensive experiments on 12 datasets demonstrate that HeterCSI establishes a generalized foundation model without scenario-specific finetuning, achieving superior average performance over full-shot baselines. Compared to the state-of-the-art zero-shot benchmark WiFo, it reduces NMSE by 7.19 dB, 4.08 dB, and 5.27 dB for CSI reconstruction, time-domain, and frequency-domain prediction, respectively. The proposed HeterCSI framework also reduces training latency by 53% compared to existing approaches while improving generalization performance by 1.53 dB on average.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_18200
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle HeterCSI: Channel-Adaptive Heterogeneous CSI Pretraining Framework for Generalized Wireless Foundation Models
Zhang, Chenyu
Lyu, Xinchen
Ren, Chenshan
Liu, Shuhan
Cui, Qimei
Tao, Xiaofeng
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Wireless foundation models promise transformative capabilities for channel state information (CSI) processing across diverse 6G network applications, yet face fundamental challenges due to the inherent dual heterogeneity of CSI across both scale and scenario dimensions. However, current pretraining approaches either constrain inputs to fixed dimensions or isolate training by scale, limiting the generalization and scalability of wireless foundation models. In this paper, we propose HeterCSI, a channel-adaptive pretraining framework that reconciles training efficiency with robust cross-scenario generalization via a new understanding of gradient dynamics in heterogeneous CSI pretraining. Our key insight reveals that CSI scale heterogeneity primarily causes destructive gradient interference, while scenario diversity actually promotes constructive gradient alignment when properly managed. Specifically, we formulate heterogeneous CSI batch construction as a partitioning optimization problem that minimizes zero-padding overhead while preserving scenario diversity. To solve this, we develop a scale-aware adaptive batching strategy that aligns CSI samples of similar scales, and design a double-masking mechanism to isolate valid signals from padding artifacts. Extensive experiments on 12 datasets demonstrate that HeterCSI establishes a generalized foundation model without scenario-specific finetuning, achieving superior average performance over full-shot baselines. Compared to the state-of-the-art zero-shot benchmark WiFo, it reduces NMSE by 7.19 dB, 4.08 dB, and 5.27 dB for CSI reconstruction, time-domain, and frequency-domain prediction, respectively. The proposed HeterCSI framework also reduces training latency by 53% compared to existing approaches while improving generalization performance by 1.53 dB on average.
title HeterCSI: Channel-Adaptive Heterogeneous CSI Pretraining Framework for Generalized Wireless Foundation Models
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.18200