Future Network Vision and Design Principles – Summary of the IP Network Evolution Whitepaper

The open architecture of the Internet continuously spawns innovative applications, expanding both in depth and breadth; over the next 5‑10 years the shift from consumer to industrial Internet is expected, with emerging media such as VR, AR, holography, and 6G‑enabled AI services driving new use cases.

Future networks are envisioned through three major goals: global interconnection (万维互联), which integrates heterogeneous networks—including space‑air‑ground convergence, next‑generation intelligent optical transport, B5G/6G mobile Internet, and massive IoT—under an IP‑centric core; compute‑network convergence (算网融合), which moves compute resources from centralized clouds to a cloud‑edge‑end distributed model and requires the network to dynamically allocate compute and storage resources based on real‑time demand and QoS guarantees; and precision networking (精准网络), which demands ultra‑reliable (99.999 %) low‑latency (millisecond‑level) and low‑jitter (microsecond‑level) services for industrial control, smart grids, remote surgery, autonomous driving, as well as bandwidth‑intensive consumer services like AR/VR and holographic communication.

Key technology requirements include deterministic networking (strict end‑to‑end latency, jitter, and loss limits for time‑sensitive communications), intrinsic security (strong identity verification, routing security, adaptive defense against unknown attacks), mobility management (seamless handover with zero loss, low latency, and high reliability for high‑speed 6G connections), and network awareness of compute resources to enable unified, on‑demand scheduling of heterogeneous compute, storage, and service instances.

The design principles for the future network are: (1) preserve core Internet principles such as end‑to‑end and layered decoupling; (2) inherit carrier‑driven architectural improvements that ensure manageability, QoS, and a blend of centralized and distributed control; (3) adjust traditional principles to meet high‑QoS service demands, allowing the network to sense and cooperate with applications; and (4) continuously enhance IP capabilities to provide network‑driven, intrinsic solutions for common requirements.

Architecturally, the network extends its capabilities horizontally to both ends of applications—via intelligent plugins deployed at endpoints or edge nodes that handle identifier mapping, security, and AI‑driven resource decisions—and vertically adopts a “slim‑waist” model where an intelligent control plane abstracts functions such as identification, routing, programming, and scheduling, while the data plane remains simple and generic.

Overall, carriers, by leveraging their long‑standing role in providing ubiquitous connectivity and operational excellence, are positioned to drive the rapid innovation and societal benefits promised by the next‑generation network architecture.