A device-to-device enabled fog computing architecture for 5G and IoT in underserved areas

Abstract

The fifth generation (5G) of wireless network ecosystem which is expected to be deployed in 2020 promises to provide higher speeds, higher capacity and lower latency than the current mobile networks. 5G also promises to revolutionise the telecommunications industry in unprecedented ways by enabling new applications and services that could change the way we live and do things. However, it is not economically feasible to deploy 5G wireless solutions in low Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) areas because of the low revenue potential presented by these regions. One of the contending technologies for low cost computing networks is fog computing, which selectively moves resources and services of computing, storage, control and networking at the edge of the network closer to the users, thereby improving the speed of decision-making, network cost, and the performance of the system. In this paper, we aim to investigate how fog computing can enable cost-efficient solutions in underserved areas to counteract the economic barrier of low ARPU, while providing good quality of service for users that meets key performance requirements. We propose a fog-based architecture that exploits device-to-device communication as well as local computation, storage, and communication as a means to reduce communication costs and thus overcome the financial constraint in 5G deployment. Preliminary simulation results indicate that the proposed architecture shows a twofold improvement in throughput and reduces round-trip delay up to a factor of four.