Bego Blanco, Jose Oscar Fajardo, Ioannis Giannoulakis, Emmanouil Kafetzakis, Shuping Peng, Jordi Perez-Romero, Irena Trajkovska, Pouria S. Khodashenas, Leonardo Goratti, Michele Paolino, Evangelos Sfakianakis, Fidel Liberal, George Xilouris
UPV/EHU, NCSRD, ORION Innovations, Fujitsu Laboratories of Europe (FLE), UPC, ZHAW, i2CAT, CREATE-NET, Virtual Open Systems, Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE)
Computer Standards & Interfaces In Press
Available online 4 January 2017
JCR: 1.268
ABSTRACT
This paper analyzes current standardization situation of 5G and the role network softwarization plays in order to address the challenges the new generation of mobile networks must face. This paper surveys recent documentation from the main stakeholders to pick out the use cases, scenarios and
emerging vertical sectors that will be enabled by 5G technologies, and to identify future high-level service requirements. Driven by those service requirements 5G systems will support diverse radio access technology scenarios, meet end-to-end user experienced requirements and provide capability of flexible network deployment and efficient operations. Then, based on the identified requirements, the paper overviews the main 5G technology trends and design principles to address them. In particular, the paper emphasizes the role played by three main technologies, namely SDN, NFV and MEC, and analyzes the main open issues of these technologies in relation to 5G.