Cost modeling for SDN/NFV based mobile 5G networks

This paper presents a techno-economic analysis on the integration of new technologies in 5G mobile networks, in order to fulfil the requirements provided by ETSI organization. Therefore “softwarization” of 5G networks is imperative and becomes a reality through new technologies, such as Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Cloud Computing. In this context, this paper provides a cost model in order to estimate the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), the Operational Expenditure (OPEX) and the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the proposed architecture. Furthermore, the proposed techno-economic model is used in order to estimate the above-mentioned network costs for the proposed network architecture and these costs are compared with the corresponding costs of a traditional network architecture. The experimental results verify and even exceed the ambitious predictions for cost reduction, due to the integration of those state of the art technologies in next-generation architectures.