Flexible Next Generation Communication Networks

The increasing bandwidth demand of the end-users makes the need for efficient resource management more compelling in next generation communication networks. Nowadays, the mobile communications scenery is characterized by the continuous growth of new services, the provision of which poses the need for higher data rates to guarantee satisfactory quality of experience for the end-users. The advent of evolved mobile communication networks (such as LTE - Long Term Evolution) promises to encounter this demand by offering increased capacity, high data rates, seamless mobility and low latency. Nonetheless, during this evolutionary process, the backhaul part of mobile networks has received less attention. This paper discusses on ways for further evolution of mobile networks by rendering backhaul connectivity more flexible, robust and self-aware