Design framework and suitability assessment proposal for 5G air interface candidates

This paper proposes a unified way of describing 5G air interface (AI) design proposals using a 5G service/frequency map based on work carried out as part of 5G-PPP H2020 project "METIS II". It then crucially proposes a design and suitability assessment framework for 5G AI candidates. This framework focuses on "harmonization KPIs" and how to measure them (qualitatively and/ quantitatively). The paper proposes that evaluation of 5G AI candidates should, in addition to performance, include the "extent of harmonization", which is defined in this paper. Additionally, an initial overview of different User Plane aggregation approaches is provided. We then discuss the types of APIs which may need to be offered to higher layers. Additionally, under certain link conditions, deployment scenarios, traffic assumptions, some of the AI proposals may allow for better (in some but perhaps not all aspects) support of certain 5G Control Plane features and this paper outlines the potential scope of these features