Programmable and cloud-native RAN: Challenges, solutions, enabling technologies, and tools

Network programmability and cloudification are the two key enablers for building new generation mobile networks, where radio and core network resources are dynamically created, configured/programmed, and released to support the 5G vertical services. In this context, SDN, MEC, and NFV will play a key role towards programmable and cloud-native mobile networks to enable a true network-as-a-service delivery. This tutorial will shed light on the challenges, solutions and technologies focusing on open-source tools, allowing to build a flexible and programmable mobile network. Particularly, the tutorial will rely on concrete solutions, developed by the speakers using OpenAirInterface and Mosaic-5G platform, to demonstrate a realization of network slicing concept.