Defining and Surveying Wireless Link Virtualization and Wireless Network Virtualization

Virtualization is a topic of great interest in the area of mobile and wireless communication systems. However, the term virtualization is used in an inexact manner which makes it difficult to compare and contrast work that has been carried out to date. The purpose of this paper is twofold. In the first place, this paper develops a formal theory for defining virtualization. In the second instance, this theory is used as a way of surveying a body of work in the field of wireless link virtualization, a subspace of wireless network virtualization. The formal theory provides a means for distinguishing work that should be classed as resource allocation as distinct from virtualization. It also facilitates a further classification of the representation level at which the virtualization occurs, which makes comparison of work more meaningful. This paper provides a comprehensive survey and highlights gaps in the research that make for fruitful future work

Engage D3.8 Mapping ATM research concepts, past and future - including the Engage wiki implementation

This report presents the wiki produced by Engage, SESAR’s Knowledge Transfer Network. It summarises the key development processes, status and planning for the wiki, which has been built over the past two years, with increased activity in 2020 to resolve underlying data provision issues. Inter alia, the wiki hosts the first interactive research map of European ATM, an ATM concepts roadmap, the first consolidated listing of European university programmes, and sets out progress towards a new, one-stop (data) repository for the research community

Research into the safety of London bus passengers

Key recommendationsReduce harsh braking and acceleration incidents; • Encourage the use of forward collision warning systems to assist drivers negotiating congested traffic; • Enable passengers to sit down before bus pulls away from bus stops; • Encourage passenger behaviour change using nudge techniques or additional information sources to enable them to stay seated until the bus has completely stopped before alighting; • Encourage passengers to routinely hold onto grab-rails and seat rails whilst sat down; • Raise awareness of the impact of a driver’s behaviour and decision making on a passengers psychological and physical well-being through driver empathy training; • Review the issue of the ‘open’ forward-facing seats into the wheelchair / buggy area to prevent passengers being thrown out of them in instances of harsh braking; • Consider evaluating and increasing running times in the off peak-periods to enable drivers to accommodate the needs of older passengers to reach a seat on boarding and remain seated until fully stopped for alighting the bus; • Promote the needs of drivers and passengers to increase the dialogue on buses and raise awareness of expected behaviours e.g. passengers must always hold on to handrails; • Consider policy changes to enhance driver behaviour; particularly to not pull away until passengers are sat down; always kneel the bus and wait until bus has stopped before passengers stand to alight; • Potentially consider gamification of bus drivers to rate their driving and provide award

Urban Mobility Transitions: Governing through Experimentation in Bristol and New York City

Transitions away from car-dominance is one of the key debates in urban research, policy and practice today. Car-free public space, cycling and convenient public transport services are widely seen as desirable, yet the reconfiguration of our streets and transport networks has been incremental. This doctoral research examines how mobility in cities is governed through experiments, commonly understood as pilot projects, and whether experiments hold potential for transformative change in urban mobility systems, including transitions away from automobility. The research draws on a synthesis of sustainability transitions, transport studies and urban studies literature, and traces the outcomes of 108 experiments undertaken over two decades in two cities: Bristol (UK) and New York City (USA) between 1996/7 and 2016. The findings demonstrate that experiments can contribute to transforming the physical shape of urban mobility systems and the institutions involved in governing them, and can even contribute to transitions, if assessed as change in commuting patterns away from car use. The research compares the capacity of respective municipal governments, Bristol City Council and NYC city government for ‘transformative experimentation’, and presents an institutionalist analysis of why the transformation of Bristol’s mobility system was more limited than NYC’s. To unpack the problematisation of piecemeal, ‘project-based’ experimentation driven by competitive funding landscapes, the research compares Bristol City Council and NYC city government as two municipalities with a different degree of reliance on external funding. The stronger capacity of NYC city government can be explained by its higher degree of fiscal autonomy and mobility policy discretion, whereas Bristol City Council’s capacity was limited by the centralisation of the UK state. Yet the thesis also shows that both municipalities pursued successful endogenous strategies in response to multi-scalar structure, and points to organisational and governance practices that can create ‘political space’ for urban actors to further transitions

On the evolution of infrastructure sharing in mobile networks: A survey

ABSTRACT: Infrastructure sharing for mobile networks has been a prolific research topic for more than three decades now. The key driver for Mobile Network Operators to share their network infrastructure is cost reduction. Spectrum sharing is often studied alongside infrastructure sharing although on its own it is a vast research topic outside the scope of this survey. Instead, in this survey we aim to provide a complete picture of infrastructure sharing both over time and in terms of research branches that have stemmed from it such as performance evaluation, resource management etc. We also put an emphasis on the relation between infrastructure sharing and the decoupling of infrastructure from services, wireless network virtualization and multi-tenancy in 5G networks. Such a relation reflects the evolution of infrastructure sharing over time and how it has become a commercial reality in the context of 5

DIGISER. Digital Innovation in Governance and Public Service Provision

Digital Innovation Challenges In view of the increasingly intense pressures on the public sector to address the challenges of our time, governments and other public entities are gradually adopting digital innovation, seeking to promote quality public services. Digital technologies and capabilities create opportunities to re-organise public service inno- vation and delivery in ways that reduce cost and increase quality, proactiveness and citizen-centricity. Multilevel governance, networks and other collaboration systems (at local, regional, national and interna- tional level) are gaining importance as key drivers of this process of digital innovation and transformation. The link to the innovation ecosystem, including all sectors of activity, both private and public (e.g., academia, industry, business, citizens and governments) appears as fundamental in all phases of the creation, devel- opment, implementation and maintenance of public services and policy making. Information and communi- cation technologies are conceived as essential elements to support the creation and sustainability of these collaboration processes. In an era in which information gains relevance in the management of the territory and allows new power relations, the expectations of citizens are increasingly demanding and specific. Considering the develop- ments of recent years, such as the economic, social and health crises, the pressure placed on the resolution of global challenges is progressively transferred to the scope of cities. There are several elements that con- tribute to the importance of cities in the digital innovation transformation process namely buying- power, being closer to citizens and being able to work across different sectors. In fact, urban territories increasingly represent a greater number of citizens - in Europe, for example, they correspond to 75% of the population - have greater autonomy in management, worldwide they contribute to 80% of the global GDP and have the potential to provide a major contribution to the resolution of global challenges. The balance between change (promoted by the digital innovation strategies) and stability (driven by organi- sational inertia) needs to be handled carefully. The transformation process has to be based on a long-term strategy and to occur in a sustainable way, by focusing on learning experiences and knowledge and tech- nology transfer, while being sensitive to the local context to ensure improvement. At the European level, the Digital Transition has been considered a main goal for the next decade. The EU launched the European Green Deal and Europe Fit for the Digital Age, a twin initiative, which links green and digital transition. The vision for the EU ́s digital decade is reflected in the Digital Compass 2030 and includes 4 cardinal points: skills, government, infrastructure and Business. With the aim of having 100% of the key public services online by 2030, the digital compass ensures that digital will contribute in a positive way to improve citizens quality of life while reducing the resources spent. To support this vision, and by understanding the importance of community-led data-driven solutions and the potential of collaborative ap- proaches, several initiatives are being implemented. The Living-in.EU movement, for example, points out the European Way’ where multi-level governance and co-creation processes support the development of a cohesive digital Europe in the path towards digital transition. Another initiative contributing to this strategy is promoted by Open & Agile Smart Cities which is connecting cities through Minimal Interoperability Mech- anisms (MIMs) - “a set of practical capabilities based on open technical specifications that allow cities and communities to replicate and scale solutions globally”. The MIMs contribute to the creation of the European Single Market by providing a common technical ground for the procurement and deployment of urban data platforms and end-to-end solutions in cities

Innovation Policy Roadmapping for the Future Finnish Smart City Digital Twins : Towards Finland National Digital Twin Programme

Smart City Digital Twins (SCDTs) emerge as a transforming concept with the ability to redefine the future of cities in the fast-paced evolving landscape of urban development. This qualitative futures research explores thoroughly into the complex interaction of socio-technical dynamics in the Finnish setting, investigating the several ways SCDTs might revolutionise urban spaces and create resilience. By utilizing Innovation Policy Roadmapping (IPRM) method for the first time on SCDTs, it reveals the diverse capacities of SCDTs across domains such as urban planning, scenario developing, What-IF analysis, and public involvement through a rigorous examination of academic literature and multi-level analysis of expert interviews. The research emphasises the critical role of policymakers and sectoral actors in building an environment that allows Finnish SCDTs to survive in the face of technological improvements. Furthermore, it emphasises the convergence of SCDTs and Futures Studies approaches, giving a visionary path to adaptable and forward-thinking urban futures. The contributions of this study extend beyond the scope of Finnish SCDTs, giving inspiration for sustainable smart city transformations, potential foundational insights towards Finland National Digital Twin Programme and paving the way for the incorporation of futures studies methodologies and digital twins to mitigate uncertainties and create resilient urban futures. Longitudinal impact assessments, real-time citizen-centric foresight applications via SCDT, and the investigation of SCDTs' role in disaster mitigation and social well-being are among the identified future research directions, providing a comprehensive roadmap for leveraging SCDTs as transformative tools for building sustainable urban futures

Context-based security function orchestration for the network edge

Over the last few years the number of interconnected devices has increased dramatically, generating zettabytes of traffic each year. In order to cater to the requirements of end-users, operators have deployed network services to enhance their infrastructure. Nowadays, telecommunications service providers are making use of virtualised, flexible, and cost-effective network-wide services, under what is known as Network Function Virtualisation (NFV). Future network and application requirements necessitate services to be delivered at the edge of the network, in close proximity to end-users, which has the potential to reduce end-to-end latency and minimise the utilisation of the core infrastructure while providing flexible allocation of resources. One class of functionality that NFV facilitates is the rapid deployment of network security services. However, the urgency for assuring connectivity to an ever increasing number of devices as well as their resource-constrained nature, has led to neglecting security principles and best practices. These low-cost devices are often exploited for malicious purposes in targeting the network infrastructure, with recent volumetric Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks often surpassing 1 terabyte per second of network traffic. The work presented in this thesis aims to identify the unique requirements of security modules implemented as Virtual Network Functions (VNFs), and the associated challenges in providing management and orchestration of complex chains consisting of multiple VNFs The work presented here focuses on deployment, placement, and lifecycle management of microservice-based security VNFs in resource-constrained environments using contextual information on device behaviour. Furthermore, the thesis presents a formulation of the latency-optimal placement of service chains at the network edge, provides an optimal solution using Integer Linear Programming, and an associated near-optimal heuristic solution that is able to solve larger-size problems in reduced time, which can be used in conjunction with context-based security paradigms. The results of this work demonstrate that lightweight security VNFs can be tailored for, and hosted on, a variety of devices, including commodity resource-constrained systems found in edge networks. Furthermore, using a context-based implementation of the management and orchestration of lightweight services enables the deployment of real-world complex security service chains tailored towards the user’s performance demands from the network. Finally, the results of this work show that on-path placement of service chains reduces the end-to-end latency and minimise the number of service-level agreement violations, therefore enabling secure use of latency-critical networks

Digitalisation For Sustainable Infrastructure: The Road Ahead

In today’s tumultuous and fast-changing times, digitalisation and technology are game changers in a wide range of sectors and have a tremendous impact on infrastructure. Roads, railways, electricity grids, aviation, and maritime transport are deeply affected by the digital and technological transition, with gains in terms of competitiveness, cost-reduction, and safety. Digitalisation is also a key tool for fostering global commitment towards sustainability, but the race for digital infrastructure is also a geopolitical one. As the world’s largest economies are starting to adopt competitive strategies, a level playing field appears far from being agreed upon. Why are digitalisation and technology the core domains of global geopolitical competition? How are they changing the way infrastructure is built, operated, and maintained? To what extent will road, rail, air, and maritime transport change by virtue of digitalisation, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things? How to enhance cyber protection for critical infrastructure? What are the EU’s, US’ and China’s digital strategies?Publishe