Evolution of Intelligent Telecom Networks in 5G Era

In 5G era, a series of information technologies undergo fast development, including cloud computing, IoT, edge computing, blockchain, artificial intelligence, computing power, etc. These information technologies lead to an intelligent evolution for telecom networks. This paper first reviews the features and functions of various generations of telecom networks. Then, this paper introduces the characteristics, research content, evolution direction, standards proposals, and research results of various organizations for four types of intelligent telecom networks, including smart network, autonomous network, intent network, compute first networking. These four categories of networks have the typical characteristics of 5G intelligent networks. Finally, the paper presents future research directions in the evolution of intelligent telecom networks.