EnCoR: An end-to-end architecture for simplifying cellular networks

2026-05-21

AI Summary

This work proposes EnCoR, a novel cellular architecture that fundamentally rethinks mobility management by shifting it from the core network to the end-to-end layer, thereby eliminating core-based mobility handling and tunnel-based IP anchoring while preserving terminal compatibility and service functionality. Unlike conventional cellular networks—where embedded core-network mobility mechanisms incur high latency, architectural complexity, and substantial operational overhead—EnCoR seamlessly integrates with existing authentication, charging, and QoS frameworks and supports unmodified user equipment. Experimental results demonstrate that EnCoR significantly reduces end-to-end latency and cuts capital expenditure for low-latency services by over 90%. Furthermore, it drastically decreases handover control signaling and achieves a 2.6× reduction in handover latency under load, delivering application-level performance on par with LTE.

Abstract

Since their creation, cellular networks have made in-network mobility support a key feature of their service model. While this approach provides seamless connectivity for legacy traffic, it has the side effects of inflating end-user latency and increasing complexity and operational overhead for operators. Yet modern applications and transport protocols are increasingly mobility tolerant, prompting us to revisit the assumption that mobility must be provided as an in-network service. In this paper, we propose EnCoR (End-to-End Core and RAN), a deployable cellular network architecture that removes mobility from the core entirely. Leveraging end-to-end mobility, EnCoR eliminates tunnel-based IP anchoring while preserving compatibility with existing authentication, charging, and QoS techniques. We demonstrate that EnCoR works with unmodified phones while providing equivalent performance as traditional LTE networks for real applications including video and voice calling and video streaming. We show that EnCoR not only allows network operators to reduce end to end latency, but can also reduce the capital cost of providing low latency service to users by more than 90% compared to 3GPP networks, based on cost estimates for cellular network core and border router infrastructure provided by the FCC. Finally, we demonstrate that these gains are achieved while reducing the amount of overall handover control messaging, allowing the EnCoR core network to handle a greater number of mobility handover events than an LTE core under identical hardware constraints, achieving a 2.6x lower handover latency under load.

Problem

• cellular networks
• mobility support
• end-to-end latency
• network complexity
• operational overhead

Innovation

• end-to-end mobility
• cellular network architecture
• tunnel elimination
• handover latency reduction
• capital cost efficiency