5G City: A Novel 5G-Enabled Architecture for Ultra-High Definition and Immersive Media on City Infrastructure

Abstract

The rapid adoption of cutting edge media services such as ultra-high definition (UHD/4K) video and immersive media i.e, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), will demand large investments in a scalable, ubiquitous, and robust communication infrastructure and services. The H2020 5GCity project aims to solve such issues and beyond while designing, developing, and deploying a sliceable, distributed cloud & edge and radio 5G-platform with neutral hosting capability to support the sharing between information technology (IT) infrastructure owners and media service providers i.e., vertical media actors. In this paper we discuss how 5G technology will facilitate the rise of highly demanding media use cases and its implication on how service providers typically operate (in terms of business model). After a brief introduction of the 5GCity's architecture we present how three media-related use cases will be deployed in the cities of Barcelona, Bristol and Lucca by considering the project's architecture and the underlying neutral host parading to understand the benefits of such model for infrastructure owners and media service providers.