5GECO: A Cross-domain Intelligent Neutral Host Architecture for 5G and Beyond

Radio Access Network (RAN) openness is a vision for 5G and beyond to avoid unnecessary vendor lock-in effects and introduce new business models. To expand the Open RAN (O-RAN) potentials, such as real-time control and data-driven intelligence, we propose a cross-domain 5GECO network architecture to let flourish the new Intelligent Neutral Host (INH) model in the value chain. Also, to realize this new model, we consider the role of a INH Service provider as having to define a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with its customers, called tenants, and a scheme to map said SLA into 5G technology (termed the 5GECO multiplet) is elaborated. It is noted that this 5GECO architecture considers sharing, control, and orchestration across both the RAN and the Transport Network (TN) domains. Finally, three key challenges are identified for an INH Service Provider, along with a preliminary solution analysis, ranging from Radio Resource Management (RRM) optimization, cross-domain low-latency, and flexible virtualized resource scalability.