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Applicability of SDN and NFV Techniques for a Virtualization-Based Roaming Solution

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Abstract

Network programming and virtualization are technological trends being incrementally introduced in operational networks. This creates an environment where new innovations can be incorporated, facilitating also the evolution of the way in which existing services are delivered. These changes, however, are not only motivated by technical reasons. External factors, such as regulation, can trigger the evolution of existing services. Roaming services are an example of this two-sided situation. From the technical perspective, roaming users typically experiment worst performance than local users on the same network, since their traffic is usually routed through the home network. Besides that, due to recent regulation changes introduced in Europe for roaming services, known as Roam Like at Home (RLAH), roaming is charged at domestic prices. Both aspects are severely challenging the current mode of operation of roaming services as delivered nowadays by mobile operators. This paper presents the design of a virtualized based roaming solution, including an experimental assessment, as well as an economic insight of the concept.

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Notes

  1. The EEA includes the countries forming the EU plus the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), all of them being part of the EU’s single market.

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Acknowledgement

This work has been supported by the European Community through the 5GEx project within the H2020 programme (Grant agreement no. 671636). Special thanks to the teams of Deutsche Telekom and BISDN involved in H2020 EU 5GEx project that were part of the design and execution of this use case.

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Correspondence to Luis M. Contreras.

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Contreras, L.M., Cominardi, L., Martín Pérez, J. et al. Applicability of SDN and NFV Techniques for a Virtualization-Based Roaming Solution. J Netw Syst Manage 28, 576–604 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10922-020-09534-z

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