Visions Towards 5G: Technical Requirements and Potential Enablers

Compared to the previous generations of mobile networks, 5G will provide a significant paradigm shift by including beyond state of the art technical solutions, like very high carrier frequencies with massive bandwidths, extreme base station and device densities, and very high number of transceiver antennas. However, unlike the previous generations, it will also be highly integrative and backward compatible: combining the novel 5G air interface and spectrum together with legacy wireless systems like LTE/LTE-A and WiFi, in order to facilitate an umbrella of high-rate coverage and a seamless user experience. In order to support this advances in the radio interface, the core network will also have to reach unprecedented levels of elasticity and intelligence. Spectrum regulation will need to be rethought and significantly improved, whereas energy and cost efficiencies will become one of the key parameters that will steer the 5G design and development. This paper elaborates on the 5G related topics, identifying the key challenges for future research and preliminary 5G standardization activities, as well as providing a comprehensive survey of the current literature.