5G: An Evolution Towards a Revolution

The aim of this tutorial is to give the audience an overview of the landscape of the future generation of mobile networks, namely 5G. Contrary to popular view, 5G is not expected to be anchored on a single disruptive technology but rather supported by an amalgamation of multiple technologies. In essence, it is an evolution of several key technical advancements, whose synergy is expected to revolutionize the heterogeneity of use cases that can be "simultaneously" enabled by a single network. Such use cases range from throughput-focused mobile broadband (Gigabit peak rates) to latency/reliability-focused mission critical (e.g. augmented/virtual reality, autonomous driving) and density-focused massive connection (IoT) services. While physical layer advancements in the form of New Radio (NR) are an integral part of 5G, realizing the diverse use cases envisioned, will equally require innovation and flexible orchestration of its access, network and computing layers as well. This tutorial will provide an overview of some of these innovative ingredients that will constitute 5G, from the perspective of not just radio access network, but also core network and services/applications.