Towards spectrum sharing in virtualized networks: A survey and an outlook

Abstract

Spectrum sharing and management constitute an important tool for alleviating the problem of spectrum scarcity and underutilization. For 5G networks, a number of spectrum sharing schemes are currently under consideration, which differ significantly from the traditional approaches, namely, exclusive access and unlicensed access. The choice of spectrum sharing scheme has a significant impact on the virtualization aspects of the network. This chapter discusses spectrum sharing and its ramifications on the architecture of virtualized wireless networks. We provide a survey of important spectrum sharing schemes and discuss their pros and cons from a 5G perspective. This is followed by an up-to-date account of regulatory aspects and field trials of the important spectrum sharing schemes. The main challenges pertinent to spectrum sharing in virtualized networks are identified. Furthermore, we discuss an architecture for enabling efficient spectrum management and network virtualization in multi-operator 5G networks.