The program will include oral presentations and a poster & demonstration session to enable The interest in the Self-Organizing Network (SON) paradigm applied to the operation and management of wireless communications networks is high, both with respect to existing networks, but also for 5th generation radio access. 5G concepts are maturing, and the 7th IWSON aims at providing a forum for the corresponding academic/industrial 5G RAN SON discussions. 5G ambitions also include a focus on verticals’ applications with end-to-end requirements, network function virtualization, cloud-based RAN, and network slicing, all having an impact on the architecture, concepts and solutions for SON. Furthermore, recent advances in machine learning and big data play an important role for the further development of SON.
With the success of the first six IWSON events in Budapest, Paris, Dresden, Barcelona, Glasgow, and Valencia and the progressive focus on SON as the means to improve the performance and operability of mobile radio networks, it is timely and important to continue this workshop series bringing together people with SON interests. The scope of IWSON is intended to attract both industry and academia, primarily with a focus on 3GPP technologies, but considering other systems as well.

The program will include an invited talk, oral presentations and a demonstration session to enable lively discussions. The workshop welcomes submissions from both researchers and practitioners, either closely related to currently standardized systems or considering future systems.

Areas of interest include but are not limited to:

SON use cases and functions in future radio networks

    SON in evolved radio networks, such as 5G and LTE beyond Rel. 13, including D2D, M2M, V2X technologies and others, heterogeneous networks (3GPP and non-3GPP): multi-layer, - vendor, -tech. (incl. WiFi), small cells and ultra-dense network scenarios
    Load balancing, traffic steering, end-to-end traffic steering, mobility management, reliability
    Interference and spectrum management
    Energy Saving Management (ESM) in heterogeneous networks
    SON for adaptive antenna systems and massive MIMO deployment
    SON for radio access, backhaul, and core network
    SON in shared multi-operator environments

SON in the context of 5G virtualized networks

    SON as a virtual network function (VNF)
    Self-management concepts and methods for network slicing – slice instantiation, configuration, operation and optimization
    Self-organization for slice orchestration

Machine Learning and Data Driven Approaches

    Learning, prediction and model estimation in a RAN Automation context
    Big data aspects of RAN Automation
    RAN Automation based on geo-localized data
    Scenario and application-specific SON, e.g., smart cities, industrial communication, telematics, disaster handling, vehicular-to-x communications
    Service-, application and customer- aware RAN Automation

SON management and coordination

    Policy and objective driven SON deployment, management and enforcement
    Coordination between network layers, vendors, technologies, RAN and backhaul
    Monitoring stability and performance of SON operation

SON in the field

    Test bed activities and experience from field trials