5G-COMPLETE: A unified network, Computational and stOrage resource Management framework targeting end-to-end Performance optimization for secure 5G muLti-tEchnology and multi-Tenancy Environments (11/2019 – 10/2023)
Aim: To revolutionize the 5G architecture by efficiently combining and orchestrating compute and network resources and functionalities over a unified multi-domain infrastructure.
In the emerging highly demanding 5G environment, the 5G-COMPLETE project aimed at developing a revolutionary 5G Distributed-Radio Access Network (RAN) architecture, by efficiently combining Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) and Cloud domains complementarily, on top of a common ultra-high-capacity converged Fiber-Wireless (FiWi) x-haul infrastructure. With the outlook to 5G advanced networks, the architecture of 5G-COMPLETE aimed to transform the RAN into a low-power distributed access domain and to merge the 5G New Radio and Open-RAN fronthaul/ midhaul/ backhaul segments into one orchestratable domain. On top of this unified infrastructure, novel network and application orchestration mechanisms are incorporated for cross-domain slice lifecycle management and dynamic reconfiguration.
The concepts of 5G-COMPLETE project have been developed and successfully validated in a range of scalable lab- and field-trial demonstrators in Athens (Greece) (July 2022, at IASA – Intitute of Accelerating Systems and Applications of National Kapodistrian University of Athens), in Lannion (France) (May 2023, at ORANGE labs) and in Bristol (UK) (October 2023, at Bristol City testbed by University of Bristol), over the course of the project.
Figure 1 Photos from 5G COMPLETE demonstrator in Lannion, France, at ORANGE Labs in May 2023.
Demonstrations showcased promising results in terms of significantly minimising end-to-end latency (nearly to the target of 2-4ms) and enhancing performance (beyond the target of 1Gbps) for a wide range of vertical use cases including Smart Energy, Advance Surveillance services, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR), High Fidelity Extended Reality (XR) and Ultra-High Resolution Media Services when deployed over the 5G-COMPLETE architecture. Demonstrations also proved the capability of 5G-COMPLETE architecture to serve significantly challenging environments (remote locations, dense urban, etc.) with equally high performance thanks to the innovative Fixed-Wireless transport segments incorporating THz, mmWave as well as to the innovative Open RAN orchestration.
Figure 2 The location of the 5G COMPLETE demonstrator in Bristol, UK, in October 2023, at Bristol City.
The project’s final demonstrations are planned for the 1st and 2nd February 2024, to take place in Athens, Greece, at IASA-National Kapodistrian University of Athens lab and at the joint COSMOTE-Mobile Communications and National Technical University of Athens testbed. Smart Energy services and Advance Surveillance services including AR/VR, 4K/360o video surveillance and automatic detection services will be the focus of the final demonstrations.
5G-COMPLETE project (running from November 2019 to October 2023) has received funding from the European Union’s Framework Programme Horizon 2020 under grant agreement No. 871900, and run with the participation of 13 partners from 7 countries: Institute of Communication and Computer Systems – GR, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – GR, University of Bristol – UK, SIKLU Communication ltd. – IL, Institute of Accelerating Systems and Applications – GR, IHP GMBH – Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics – DE, NEXTWORKS Srl. – IT, MELLANOX Technologies Ltd. – IL, ADVA Optical Networking S.E. – DE, NUBIFICUS Ltd. – UK, COSMOTE Mobile Telecommunications Single Member S.A. – GR, ORANGE S.A. – FR, ACCELLERAN – BE.
For more information you may visit the project website: https://5gcomplete.eu/