Green and Scalable 5G/6G Networks for e-Health services

The deployment of 5G networks brings unprecedented advances in connectivity, latency, and scalability, enabling innovations across sectors like healthcare and industrial automation. However, their high energy demands raise sustainability concerns. This thesis tackles these challenges by exploring the intersection of energy efficiency, programmability, and security in 5G and cloud-native environments, with a view toward 6G. Key contributions include a power consumption model for O-RAN, a modular programmable infrastructure, energy-performance optimization strategies, and secure NFV orchestration using sidecar containers. A cloud-based, low-latency ultrasound diagnostic system demonstrates the practical potential of the proposed solutions. The work supports the development of sustainable, secure, and scalable next-generation networks, contributing to the evolution of green 5G and laying the foundation for future 6G infrastructures.