FANTASTIC‐5G: flexible air interface for scalable service delivery within wireless communication networks of the 5th generation

Abstract 5th generation mobile networks will have to cope with a high degree of heterogeneity in terms of services, mobility, number of devices and so on. Thus, diverse and often contradicting key performance indicators need to be supported, but having multiple radio access technologies for multi‐service support below 6 GHz will be too costly. FANTASTIC‐5G will develop a new multi‐service air interface through a modular design. To allow the system to adapt to the anticipated heterogeneity, some properties need to be pursued, like simplicity, flexibility, scalability, versatility, efficiency and future proofness. Based on these properties, a selected set of use cases and link and network design will be presented. The paper will also comprise validation and system level simulations through some indicative results and will conclude with the overall impact to 5G standardisation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.