Future Communication Clouds

Abstract

For handling exponential growth in mobile data consisting of mostly short packets, networks have been enhanced rapidly. Some of the new techniques being used in next-gen networks are massive MIMO and mm waves. Tight delay needs, especially for a new class of resource- and interaction-intensive applications, cannot be met through only enhancing networks. A solution is to create an overlay network of Cloudlets. Such edge computing also helps in virtualizing network functions (aka NFV -- Network Function Virtualization). Rapid traffic growth requires doubling network capacity every year. Service providers need to find smart ways of maximizing use of current capacity to minimize swap outs. Two sample solutions will be presented: preloading of content using a Mobile Smartloading and download of video content during good network connectivity using Smart Video Streaming.