Software-Defined Mobility Management: Architecture Proposal and Future Directions

A common characteristic for all of the uses in 5G wireless networks is the ubiquity and the almost permanent connection to the mobile network to get access to external applications. This really imposes a challenge in the signaling procedures provided to get track of the user and to guarantee session continuity. The mobility management mechanisms will play a central role in the 5G networks because of the always-on connectivity demand. This article presents a software defined approach to mobility management procedures addressing the present challenges and proposing some future directions for a more efficient service provision and a better usage of the network resources. The feasibility of such a Software-Defined Mobility Management architecture is assessed in a specific test-bed.