I'm really interested in the potential for p2p networking in 5G. But I've been disappointed that LTE Direct[1] hasn't really become a normal thing since a coupl

I'm really interested in the potential for p2p networking in 5G. But I've been disappointed that LTE Direct[1] hasn't really become a normal thing since a couple years ago when Qualcomm announced it. A cursory googling of 5G shows that some amount of 5G research has focused around device-to-device, mostly for IoT purposes[2][3]. Link [3] in particular talks about the challenge of incentivizes: > Besides the technical challenges, there is the very practical problem of incentivizing users to lend their devices to serve as relays for the traffic of others, especially since these connections will consume bandwidth, storage, and battery power on the relay. Again, the appropriate class of solutions depends upon the D2D design. If this D2D does become a central part of 5G, I'm really curious about whether users will be able to use 5G not (only) with a carrier's towers, but as a part of a mesh network (and as a Bluetooth- or wifi-like tool for local networking). It could be a great way to chip away at the power of carriers and ISPs (which might be one reason LTE Direct is nowhere to be seen, and why D2D 5G capabilities could be gimped in end-user devices). I'm a complete layman in this area, so I'm curious to hear others' thoughts. [1] https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/research/projects/lte-direct https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/research/projects/lte-dir... [2] https://www.ericsson.com/research-blog/5g/device-device-communications/ https://www.ericsson.com/research-blog/5g/device-device-comm... [3] http://www.comsoc.org/ctn/device-device-communication-5g-cellular-networks-challenges-solutions-and-future-directions http://www.comsoc.org/ctn/device-device-communication-5g-cel...