Specific Challenge:

Whilst 5G early introduction targets "local" network improvements (e.g. at radio access level), the longer term vision targets the realisation of pervasive mobile virtual services, through a network managing compute, storage and transport connectivity functions^[1] in an integrated way. The challenge is to transform the network into a low energy distributed computer, where processes and applications are dynamically created, moved and suppressed, depending on the information flows, customer needs, and where new terminal types in cars, objects, appliances, and new interfaces based on gestures, facial expressions, sound and haptics may be the basis of the interaction between humans and the infosystems.

Scope:

Proposals may cover only one strand or cut across several strands.

- Strand 1: Extension of virtualisation technologies and architectures for Network Management to support i) recursive deployments of functional components for multi-tenancy; ii) high device heterogeneity through virtualisation of resource-constrained devices with load reduction approaches and new network control solutions to effectively handle the authentication, naming, addressing, routing and related functions for massive number of terminals; iii) end to end resource self-configuration and management according to service, traffic, channel or mobility conditions; iv) SDN intelligent network interface selection; v) ultra-dense network deployment with massive user generated traffic; vi) unified management of compute, storage and connectivity resources.

- Strand 2: Security^[2]: hardware, software technologies and architectures, level of abstraction for information sharing enabling tenants workloads to trust the host systems. It enables trusted deployment of critical workloads across infrastructure and for infrastructure owners, differentiated services offers to tenants, whilst also improving their own control of their systems, vulnerabilities and compromises. It covers Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) secure provisioning and their remote management, with categorisation of sensitive operations supporting trust domain definition and set up, with real -time identification of possible compromises or security breaches.

- Strand 3: Radio network enabling technologies, architectures and advanced signal processing targeting i) differentiated service requirements, including broadcast/multicast and strategies for spectrum sharing and usage optimisation in licensed and unlicensed bands; ii) terminals as moving nodes for coverage or service extension; iii) network assisted self-driving objects with optimised information fusion/processing from maps, sensors, and events communication; iv) simplified access points through distributed computing and optimised function placement; v) ultra low latency services; vi) applicability of mmWave frequency bands to use cases beyond eMBB; vii) usability of novel spectrum at Teraherz frequencies (incl. visible light communications).

Expected Impact:

- Evolution of networks towards OTT like platforms integrating connectivity, storage and computing resources opening for new service models to telecom/ISP providers - (Strand 1).

- Network scalability towards high number of resource constrained devices, multiplicity of service requirements, and new connectivity paradigms (user controlled) – (Strand 1).

- Characterisation and availability of secure and trusted environments for software based virtualised networks, enabling trusted multi-tenancy - (Strand 2).

- Improvements of radio spectrum usage, novel strategies for coverage/service extension, support of novel use cases and mobile edge cloud applications, usability of today unexplored spectrum - (Strand 3).

- Dynamic scalability of network capabilities through availability of managed and enhanced resources - (Strands 1 and 3).

- Network energy consumption reduction, a factor of at least 10 is targeted - (Strands 1 and 3).