5G-Enabled Secure IoT Applications in Smart Cities Using Software-Defined Networks

Introduction

Internet of things (IOT) is collection of devices which are connected to internet where the devices are assembled with computing power and memory. The above devices also may collect information about their surroundings (Kumar et al., 2019, pp. 1-21), (Bhoi et al., 2022). Further, the devices may send data to their neighbors and/or to internet (Jain et al., 2012). In the current scenario, we already see a few IOT devices around us such as google home voice controller, which allows us to control home lights, handle other devices like TVs and mobiles to plan the day by setting up alarms or entertain ourselves with playing media etc. As IOT is such a broad technology, which has its application in various fields like manufacturing, safety, health systems, public transport and infrastructure, with the advent of technology in recent years and the huge amount of research done towards development of smart connected society it is obvious to observe the increase in number of such IOT devices in the near future (Din et al., 2017, pp. 175-182). This smart connected society comes with large volumes of data transfer, huge connectivity and a large variety of use cases of the IOT devices.

Figure 1.

A sample integration of 5G, IOT and SDN

Fifth Generation Mobile Network (5G)

Since all these IOT devices rely on transfer of large amounts of data among a lot of interconnected devices it is required for it to have a network which is fast, energy efficient and comes with low latency rate and high throughput (data rates). This is where the fifth-generation mobile network (5G) technology plays a role as it promises to meet the demands of these smart IOT devices, which the previous network technologies could not provide (Din et al., 2017, pp. 175-182). 5G aims to improve wireless internet access when compared to existing cellular networks like 4G LTE and Mobile WiMAX. 5G is the new generation of cellular technology which is an evolution of all previous generations, and it is designed in such a way that it is compatible with the current generations so that there is a smooth transition from current network to the new network and at the same time aims at improving the efficiency of the network (Park et al. 2014). With the integration of 5G networks into the IoT devices we can see massive mobility with efficient use of energy and quick communication between devices which provides fast response. The 5G is an advanced mobile network in this new generation that not only enables innovations but edges towards a progressive change across industries like smart grids. Moreover, 5G mobile communication technology is based on a whole new architecture that is adaptable.