An Overview of Blockchain and 5G Networks

Abstract: The 5G wireless networks are potentially revolutionizing future technologies. The 5G technologies are expected to foresee demands of diverse vertical applications with diverse requirements including high traffic volume, massive connectivity, high quality of service, and low latency. To fulfill such requirements in 5G and beyond, new emerging technologies such as SDN, NFV, MEC, and CC are being deployed. However, these technologies raise several issues regarding transparency, decentralization, and reliability. Furthermore, 5G networks are expected to connect many heterogeneous devices and machines which will raise several security concerns regarding users' confidentiality, data privacy, and trustworthiness. To work seamlessly and securely in such scenarios, future 5G networks need to deploy smarter and more efficient security functions. Motivated by the aforementioned issues, blockchain was proposed by researchers to overcome 5G issues because of its capacities to ensure transparency, data reliability, trustworthiness, immutability in a distributed environment. Indeed, blockchain has gained momentum as a novel technology that gives rise to a plethora of new decentralized technologies. In this chapter, we discuss the integration of the blockchain with 5G networks and beyond. We then present how blockchain applications in 5G networks and beyond could facilitate enabling various services at the edge and the core.