Shaping QoE in the 5G ecosystem

5G is rapidly moving from vision to reality and there is already some consensus regarding the technical requirements of 5G. Traditionally, performance monitoring based on existing standards has been focusing on technical Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). However, it is actually more important to focus on Quality of Experience (QoE) directly. Service delivery in 5G should account for the sheer diversity of existing and emerging use cases as well as for the vast variety of demands per service type. These requirements would only be addressed by a shift from system-centric to user-centric architectures. Given this background, this paper aims to push towards integrating QoE requirements in the 5G ecosystem, and to highlight the importance of network designs that have the enduser at their epicenter. To this end, we identify and analyze the essential must-have attributes that can shape QoE-centric networks and discuss how they fit in the 5G big picture. Then we describe current and emerging technological enablers of QoE in 5G, as well as important challenges towards achieving this goal.