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SDN Based Mobile Networks: Concepts and Benefits

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Abstract

Mobile Internet traffic is expected to grow faster than the fixed Internet traffic in a near future. Since, today’s broadband networks are approaching theoretical limits in terms of spectral efficiency per link, mobile operators are compelled to seek for new solutions that will be able to accommodate the expected traffic growth and improve their position in the competitive market. Addressing those challenges with current inflexible, not scalable and complex architecture is very hard, if possible at all. Software defined networking (SDN) is a new networking architecture paradigm that holds great promise to overcome many of mentioned limitations and provides required improvements in performance by decoupling control functions from underlying physical infrastructure. In this paper, we explain key reasons for transition to SDN based mobile networks and briefly describe several proposals of design scenario. Special emphasis is placed on SDN’s contribution to more efficient inter-cell interference management, traffic control and network virtualization.

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Acknowledgments

The work presented in this paper has been performed within the activities of the EU FP7 For e-Mont project

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Montenegro, Podgorica, Montenegro

    Slavica Tomovic, Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic & Igor Radusinovic

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  1. Slavica Tomovic
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  2. Milica Pejanovic-Djurisic
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  3. Igor Radusinovic
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Correspondence to Slavica Tomovic.

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Tomovic, S., Pejanovic-Djurisic, M. & Radusinovic, I. SDN Based Mobile Networks: Concepts and Benefits. Wireless Pers Commun 78, 1629–1644 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-014-1909-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11277-014-1909-6

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