Radio access network design with software-defined mobility management

The softwarization of wireless networks has necessitated an overhaul of existing mobility management strategies. Specifically, mobility management is no longer constrained to function within the boundaries of a pre-existing radio access network. Softwarization of the network infrastructure allows resource configurations and associations to be changed on-demand, in a manner so as to support a least cost mobility management framework. To this end, this paper presents an optimal radio access network design framework augmented with user-specific clusters from the perspective of mobility management. The proposed framework is supported by a detailed mathematical model that characterizes user mobility, system traffic, and signaling costs. Performance evaluation is based on a cost comparison with conventional LTE/NR networks, and reinforces the fact that the framework proposed herein results in significant cost reduction, even in the face of changing network scenarios.