Softwarization and virtualization in 5G networks for smart cities

Abstract

Smart cities are one of the foreseeable mission-critical hybrid networks connecting machines and humans to provide various public services through highly reliable, ultra-low latency and broadband communications. It is known that the next generation mobile networks, a.k.a 5G networks, should address requirements of such hybrid network inherently. Among the main features of 5G networks, therefore, are cognition and programmability that allow for addressing different needs. These features are so far discussed with the introduction of softwarization and virtualization technologies. In this paper, we briefly discuss how the two technologies enable use of 5G in the smart cities and allow for multiple tenants to share a common physical infrastructure. We further describe an example use case through which such multiple tenant environment can be designed.