5GAIner: Taking the verticals into the 5G road

Every new mobile communication generation comes with the emergence of novel applications and services. The fifth-generation (5G) is not an exception, its increased performance and flexibility are expected to provide support for a plethora of utilization scenarios, where the network can be tailored, in runtime, to the particular requirements of each use case. In particular, 5G is gaining the attention of different vertical industries as an enabler of Industry 4.0. However, adopting these technologies requires novel business models for delivering communication services. Moreover, 5G deployments are still in early stages, with novel functionalities expected to gradually emerge over the next few years. The 5GAIner laboratory provides a 5G experimentation environment for the different stakeholders taking part in the 5G ecosystem. The goal is to facilitate vertical markets' digital transition to 5G by providing an environment for easy innovation, development, and experimentation. In this context, the paper describes the existing infrastructure, provides some initial performance results, summarises the learned lessons, and outlines the expected evolution path.