A review of optical networking technologies supporting 5G communication infrastructure

Abstract

The advanced communication networks require heterogeneous emerging technologies to be combined while enabling various future applications. The integration of 5G wireless and optical technology is considered an unavoidable approach to reach this goal. Based on 5G mobile communications and densification of cells, the upcoming idea of smart city becomes feasible and put on a lot of attention from the research community due to its effect on everyday life’s improvement and modernization. The concept of a smart city should support everything from electrical grids to traffic management and requires the transmission of a huge amount of data. Smart city planning with a reliable communication infrastructure that can provide stringent network requirements is unfeasible without the joint of optical and wireless technologies. This paper aims to provide an overview of recent developments of advanced optical networking to provide 5G transport networks and their applications in connecting a huge number of devices in future smart city infrastructures. The implementation of optical technologies in 5G core networking open numerous questions of how wireless and optical can coexist to provide sophisticated future applications, such as the smart city concept. Within this research, we will provide the answers to some of the key related questions.