5G micro-operator networks — A key enabler for new verticals and markets

The demand for wireless information exchange in the form of data and multimedia content has been growing exponentially over the past few years, and the trends are expected to persist for the future. Due to the continued growth in demand and support required for new use cases and features, currently the fifth generation (5G) of mobile networks are being developed. We build on top of the concept of micro-operators and discuss the use of cloud-based deployments to enable connectivity and service provisioning in the new paradigms. The use of such networks for supporting new application and services from verticals, related challenges and impacts on network security and the regulatory support from new spectrum regimes are also discussed. Performance issues and optimization approaches are outlined to enable a fast and efficient deployment of 5G networks which are suitable for new verticals and markets, providing tailored services and applications.