Terminal-centric distribution and orchestration of IP mobility for 5G networks

Advances in radio access technologies and mobile terminals are fueling the growth of Internet traffic via mobile networks. The upcoming 5G era, with a new 5G radio technology and increased utilization of heterogeneous networking, will further accelerate mobile data usage. One of the pillars of mobile network architecture is IP mobility management, which is currently based on centralized data path management. In this article, we first describe the efficiency issues of the centralized approach. We then discuss multiple dimensions of distributing the mobility functions, and suggest how the mobile terminal can utilize them in orchestration for efficient communication over a 5G flat mobile network.