On the need of computing in future communication networks

TLDR: In the era of digital transfer, computing within the network is the key enabler for new services offering increased security, lower latency, increased resilience, and many additional features the authors describe in this chapter.

Abstract: In this chapter, we describe the transformation of current communication networks to future communication systems. Communication networks are always prone to transformation due to requests for new services by their users. Initially, communication networks addressed voice services. Later, data services were added. The digital transfer requires a more disruptive transformation, supporting machine-to-machine and later human-to-machine type communications. State-of-the-art communication systems are solely conveying information in an agnostic fashion between two places, where a very limited number of applications is hosted. Communication links are often addressed as dumb pipes. Future communication networks are becoming intelligent as information is increasingly processed within the communication network, rather than solely in the end points, for a massive number of heterogeneous applications. Once computing is introduced into networks, the role of the network operator will change dramatically. In the era of digital transfer, computing within the network is the key enabler for new services offering increased security, lower latency, increased resilience, and many additional features we describe in this chapter.