The TCP / IP protocol has been, since the creation of the Internet , the best way to transmit information over the network. It was first implemented on the ARPANET network, and was initially designed for fixed networks. In its almost half century of life it has served to connect billions of people, but there are basic flaws that make it not ideal to use it for some of the innovations that 5G introduces.
This was announced today by the ETSI ( European Telecommunications Standards Institute) along with the creation of a new standardization group for a non-IP networking ( ISG NIN ) network protocol. This new protocol has nothing to do with the New IP that China has proposed to create, with which they seek to make it easier to identify users on the network including information on the origin and destination of each access.
ISG INN: the group that will look for the TCP / IP substitute
The ISG NIN will attempt to create standards that allow for more efficient use of spectrum , greater security , and much lower latency. These are three of the main drawbacks that the TCP / IP protocol currently offers when operating with 5G networks, and operators around the world are looking for candidate technologies that are better suited to their needs than the protocol used today.
Back in 2015, some mobile operators identified problems with 4G networks and the TCP / IP protocol. These include the complex and inefficient use of the spectrum used in mobile telephony, various security and quality of service problems, and the use of other functions that the protocol had not designed to deal with.
The original Internet was not designed to operate as it does now
The TCP / IP protocol was designed to access central computers with their corresponding terminals to run programs on them. Computers were identified through the point at which they joined the network, which never changed. With mobile networks this changes, since we are constantly changing the antenna, which requires that there be packets that carry information about the device and the point of attachment to the network. Also, security was not an issue because there were only trusted users who could access the networks.
The results of this new group are expected to be applicable to private mobile networks and then to public networks, both in core networks and in end-to-end links, such as those between users and antennas.
The group’s first task will be to create a report that looks in detail at all flaws in the TCP / IP protocol and how an alternative system would fix those problems. They will also create a framework for testing that demonstrates the effectiveness of the new protocols.
Source> ETSI