5G Open Testbeds and Infrastructure extensions for NetApps advanced experiments

While 5G Non-Stand Alone (NSA) networks are quickly being deployed across multiple nations, providing a first sense of the capabilities of 5G connectivity, the adoption of 5G by various vertical industry sectors and its integration into their day-to-day operations is progressing slowly. This is partially due to the perceived complexity of deploying services over the 5G networks and due to the fact that the vertical stakeholders do not have a clear understanding of the potential and offerings of 5G. To address that, the concept of Network Applications (NetApps) is picking up steam which is set to assist with the deployment of vertical specific services and their seamless integration with 5G networks and vertical specific components. This paper, presents the work of the EU funded project VITAL-5G in deploying 5G Stand Alone (SA) testbeds in three real-life Transport & Logistics facilities across Europe, the necessary 5G network extensions and architectural considerations, their integration with a state-of-the-art experimentation platform and the use of NetApps to enable the seamless deployment of 5G-enabled vertical services.