On the Flexibility and Autonomy of 5G Wireless Networks

With the emergence of the fifth generation (5G) wireless networks, not only is the increase in mobile broadband targeted, but also the support of various novel use cases, such as industrial automation, autonomous vehicles, e-health, and Internet of Things together with their requirements leading to highly heterogeneous wireless networks. This requires a re-design of the network architecture to ensure the coexistence of these use cases and guarantee user experience and service requirements. Therefore, 5G networks will be highly flexible and support online learning and autonomous decision making capabilities in a centralized and distributed manner to ensure highly efficient management of wireless and network resources. In this paper, the main features enabling flexibility and autonomy in 5G networks are discussed together with potential applications in different layers of the wireless network.