SNOB-5G: The first steps into a Scalable Network Backhauling Solution for 5G
On the 2nd of February, Ubiwhere (Aveiro, Portugal), Instituto de Telecomunicações (Aveiro, Portugal), the Centre of Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra (Coimbra, Portugal) and the Research Laboratory of Electronics of MIT (Cambridge, USA) met for the beginning of the SNOB-5G project.
The project’s kick-off meeting was hosted by Ubiwhere (Project’s Coordinator) at the company’s headquarters in Aveiro, Portugal. The University of Coimbra participated at the face-to-face meeting and the Telecommunications Institute, and the MIT contributed remotely.
SNOB-5G is a PT2020 project to be carried out for the next three years. It will focus on the research and development of self-optimised, intelligent and fault-tolerant wireless backhaul solution for 5G networks that will empower cities, as neutral hosts, in the 5G business, by delivering total connectivity with high-bandwidth, capacity and latency requirements, capable of accommodating new and innovative urban services (such as intelligent transportation systems).
The solution may leverage existing urban furniture to overcome the current limitations related to the availability and installation costs of wired connections that support the backhaul communication.
Telecommunications will no longer rely on the availability of optical fibre, as it will be replaced by a fully autonomous network system apt to work in a mesh topology. The system will be able to connect to others in the vicinity, if a specific wireless link doesn’t provide the required Quality of Service (QoS), or has been shut down for unknown reasons. By fostering a highly resilient network with no point of failure, it will ensure an excellent QoS even in highly dense urban environments. The backhaul network will also be capable of autonomously adjusting its configurations through SDN and NFV technology. Secure communication mechanisms for the distributed backhaul and MEC environments will be developed, as well as privacy-by-design mechanisms to manage and protect user privacy.
SNOB-5G will favour the expansion of 5G by fostering a cost-effective, sustainable and reliable system to deploy secure and high-quality 5G network service even in environments with a high density of devices, sensors and services.