From 5G to beyond: Passive optical network and multi-access edge computing integration for latency-sensitive applications

A recent paradigm shift in support of 5G-and-beyond (5GB), Human-to-Machine/Robot (H2M/R), and the Tactile Internet has resulted in a surge of latency-sensitive applications being delivered across communication networks. These applications in conjunction with exponential growth in connected devices, have pushed for architectural and capacity changes in both wired and wireless networks. Passive optical networks (PONs) have evolved in terms of their capacity and function over the years and are now supporting both fixed as well as x-haul solutions to deliver cost-efficient, low-latency and high-bandwidth applications to end-users. In combination with multi-access edge computing (MEC), high computational tasks of applications can be offloaded to servers much closer to end-users further reducing the network latency. To this end, this paper presents a comprehensive review of the capabilities of integrated PON-MECs in delivering emerging latency sensitive applications. Specific use case scenarios benefiting from integrated PON-MECs are also detailed. Shared learning through a federated PON-MEC framework to expedite resource allocation decisions is discussed and finally, the time-savings arising from implementing the proposed framework is quantified, showing further improvements in network latency performance.