Overview
ISO/IEC TR 29181-4:2013 - “Information technology - Future Network - Problem statement and requirements - Part 4: Mobility” is an ISO/IEC technical report that documents mobility-related problem statements and requirements for Future Network (FN) design from a network-layer perspective. Published in 2013 as part of the ISO/IEC TR 29181 series, it focuses on architectural and functional mobility needs, surveys existing IP-based mobility schemes, and provides examples of mobility-control architectures including distributed mobility approaches (e.g., Proxy Mobile IPv6).
Key topics and technical requirements
- Problem analysis of current networks
- Overloaded semantics of the IP address (identifier vs locator) and inefficiencies for mobile and multi‑homing hosts.
- Limitations of single common protocols for heterogeneous wireless access.
- Tightly coupled data delivery and control functions and centralized mobility control issues.
- Architectural requirements for Future Network mobility
- Separation of Identifier (ID) and Locator (LOC) to support persistent identities and dynamic location.
- Support for heterogeneous access networks (cellular, Wi‑Fi, ad hoc, sensor networks).
- Separation of mobility control from data delivery to enable modular designs.
- Support for distributed mobility control to avoid single points of control and scale with mobile users/things.
- Functional requirements
- Location management, route optimization, and handover control as key network‑layer mobility functions.
- Informative annexes
- Survey of existing IP-based mobility protocols (e.g., Mobile IP), high‑level mobility control architectures, distributed mobility in PMIPv6, and additional considerations for FN mobility.
Applications and who uses this standard
ISO/IEC TR 29181-4 is targeted at architects, designers and decision-makers involved in:
- Future Network and Internet architecture design
- Network equipment vendors and telecom manufacturers
- Mobile network operators and Internet service providers planning mobility support
- Standards bodies and working groups (IETF, ITU‑T) and research projects (e.g., mobility-first, GENI, AKARI)
- System integrators and researchers addressing mobility for IoT, 5G/6G, sensor and ad hoc networks
Practical uses include informing clean‑slate or incremental FN designs, defining mobility control separation, and guiding evaluations of distributed mobility solutions such as Proxy Mobile IPv6.
Related standards
- ISO/IEC TR 29181 (Parts 1–7) - overall Future Network problem statements and requirements
- IETF Mobile IP and Proxy Mobile IPv6 (documented in the report)
- ITU‑T mobility management recommendations (e.g., Q.1706 series)
Keywords: ISO/IEC TR 29181-4:2013, Future Network mobility, identifier locator split, distributed mobility control, Proxy Mobile IPv6, location management, handover control, route optimization.