Toward Ultrareliable Low-Latency Communications: Typical Scenarios, Possible Solutions, and Open Issues

Abstract

Ultrareliable low-latency communications (URLLC) is one of three emerging application scenarios in 5G new radio (NR) for which physical layer design aspects have been specified. With 5G NR, we can guarantee reliability and latency in radio access networks. However, for communication scenarios where the transmission involves both radio access and wide-area core networks, the delay in radio access networks contributes to only a portion of the end-toend (E2E) delay. In this article, we outline the delay components and packet loss probabilities in typical URLLC scenarios and formulate the constraints on E2E delay and overall packet loss probability. Then, we summarize possible solutions in the physical, link, and network layers as well as the cross-layer design. Finally, we discuss open issues in prediction and communication codesign for URLLC in wide-area, largescale networks.