A techno-economic study of optical network disaggregation employing Open-Source Software business models for Metropolitan Area Networks

This work provides a techno-economic evaluation of optical disaggregation architectures in the context of metropolitan area networks. The study compares two optical disaggregation options (partial vs. total) against the legacy benchmark where optical equipment is subject to vendor lock-in, as it is deployed in most networks today. We show that emerging open source software projects within the software-defined networking ecosystem can potentially yield significant cost savings for medium- and large-size network operators, while they can introduce extra flexibility and agility to network operations and service deployments.This work has been supported by EU H2020 project Metro-Haul, grant no. 761727 (https://metro-haul.eu)

Beyond 5G Domainless Network Operation enabled by Multiband: Toward Optical Continuum Architectures

Both public and private innovation projects are targeting the design, prototyping and demonstration of a novel end-to-end integrated packet-optical transport architecture based on Multi-Band (MB) optical transmission and switching networks. Essentially, MB is expected to be the next technological evolution to deal with the traffic demand and service requirements of 5G mobile networks, and beyond, in the most cost-effective manner. Thanks to MB transmission, classical telco architectures segmented into hierarchical levels and domains can move forward toward an optical network continuum, where edge access nodes are all-optically interconnected with top-hierarchical nodes, interfacing Content Delivery Networks (CDN) and Internet Exchange Points (IXP). This article overviews the technological challenges and innovation requirements to enable such an architectural shift of telco networks both from a data and control and management planes

All-optical aggregation and distribution of traffic in large metropolitan area networks using multi-Tb/s S-BVTs

Current metropolitan area network architectures are based on a number of hierarchical levels that aggregate traffic toward the core at the IP layer. In this setting, routers are interconnected by means of fixed transceivers operating on a point-to-point basis where the rates of transceivers need to match. This implies a great deal of intermediate transceivers to collect traffic and groom and send it to the core. This paper proposes an alternative scheme based on sliceable bandwidth/bitrate variable transceivers (S-BVTs) where the slice-ability property is exploited to perform the aggregation of traffic from multiple edges �� -to-1 rather than 1-to-1. This approach can feature relevant cost reductions through IP offloading at intermediate transit nodes but requires viable optical signal-to-noise ratio (OSNR) margins for all-optical transmission through the network. In this work, we prove through simulation the viability and applicability of this technique in large metro networks with a vertical-cavity-surface-emitting laser-based S-BVT design to target net capacities per channel of 25, 40, and 50 Gb/s. The study reveals that this technology can support most of the paths required for IP offloading after simulation in a semi-synthetic topology modeling a 20-million-inhabitant metropolitan area. Moreover, OSNR margins enable the use of protection paths (secondary disjoint paths) between the target node and the core much longer than primary paths in terms of both the number of intermediate hops and kilometers.European Union H2020 project PASSION, grant no. 780326 (http://www.passion-project.eu/)

Defining European ICT Poles of Excellence: Literature Review

The European ICT Poles of Excellence (EIPE) study pursues the following main objectives: • Define what European ICT Poles (EIPE) of world-class Excellence are, their salient characteristics and the corresponding quantitative indicators. • Develop a quantitative methodology for the identification and analysis of existing European ICT Poles of Excellence. • Develop a quantitative methodology for the identification and monitoring of emerging European ICT Poles of Excellence. This report pursues the first objective. To do so, it roots the definition of EIPE in a large body of scientific literature, both conceptual and empirical, that has described, analysed and mapped for almost a century the spatial concentration of economic activities, and moreJRC.J.3-Information Societ

Nonlinear Interference Generation in Wideband and Disaggregated Optical Network Architectures

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Geography and location choices

[SPA] La tesis se concentra en las decisiones de localización por parte de las empresas y los individuos, con una especial atención a la influencia del espacio sobre las mismas. Un supuesto básico en el análisis implica que ambos tipos de agentes toman sus decisiones siguiendo un principio de maximización de la utilidad esperada como consecuencia de la localización en uno u otro lugar. En este contexto, la investigación está orientada a la cuantificación del impacto que tienen las características de cada destino sobre este tipo de decisiones. En la primera parte de la tesis analizamos las decisiones de localización de las empresas. Tomando como punto de partida la especificación estándar en la literatura, basada en modelos de elección discreta, incorporamos de modo explícito la influencia potencial de los atributos que caracterizan al conjunto de localizaciones próximas a cada destino. La especificación econométrica propuesta permite así evaluar la relevancia del espacio como un factor explicativo adicional de las decisiones de localización de las empresas. Los resultados empíricos obtenidos en la estimación este modelo ampliado utilizando una base de datos que incluye una muestra de empresas españolas confirman la relevancia de este tipo de efectos espaciales. Las características de las localizaciones vecinas efectivamente contribuyen a reforzar el atractivo de cada destino particular. Sin embargo, la magnitud de la influencia de estos efectos varía según el sector de actividad considerado; en concreto, son especialmente relevantes en el proceso de localización de empresas manufactureras que desarrollan actividades con un alto contenido tecnológico. Adicionalmente, la propia accesibilidad del entorno donde se localiza la empresa es un factor que condiciona el alcance de los efectos espaciales: a mayor accesibilidad y conectividad con su entorno, es decir a mayor centralidad de la localización, los efectos espaciales de aglomeración son más intensos, pero se disipan con mayor rapidez y alcanzan una distancia menor. La segunda parte de la tesis se concentra en diferentes aspectos relativos a las decisiones de localización de la población. En primer lugar, los flujos migratorios y sus determinantes se estudian en un marco teórico que distingue la decisión de cambiar de residencia y la elección del destino. Entre los determinantes de cada una de estas decisiones se pueden incluir toda una variedad de motivaciones y características personales; sin embargo, el estudio se ha restringido a las características a nivel municipal, tanto del origen como del destino. Los resultados empíricos obtenidos para el caso de los flujos migratorios intermunicipales en España sugieren que éstos contribuyen decisivamente al proceso de suburbanización mediante la expansión de las áreas metropolitanas de las grandes ciudades. En cuanto a la relevancia de los diferentes factores explicativos considerados, son reseñables los resultados para las variables que describen las condiciones en el mercado de trabajo y el mercado de la vivienda. La prevalencia de elevadas tasas de desempleo en un municipio desincentiva la decisión de cambiar de residencia y además reduce su capacidad de atracción. De este modo, los flujos migratorios internos pueden caracterizarse como flujos entre municipios relativamente prósperos, donde el desempleo tiene menor relevancia, frente a la concepción tradicional como movimientos desde las localizaciones menos prósperas a las más prósperas. Por otra parte, se concluye que las características del mercado de la vivienda son un factor clave en las decisiones migratorias: residir en una vivienda en régimen de propiedad es el principal obstáculo a la movilidad de la población y, además, la disponibilidad de viviendas en alquiler en un destino contribuye decisivamente a incrementar su atractivo para los potenciales inmigrantes. Finalmente, utilizamos los flujos migratorios como una fuente de información sobre la calidad de vida asociada a residir en cada municipio. La hipótesis central es que las personas deciden migrar de un lugar a otro en busca de mejores condiciones de vida y, en consecuencia, los flujos migratorios reflejan las diferencias en la calidad de vida según son percibidos por la población. La metodología desarrollada completa otras aproximaciones a la medición de la calidad de vida basadas en la elaboración de índices sintéticos, pero frente a estos últimos exigir mucha menos información estadística de partida, dado que utiliza exclusivamente datos sobre flujos migratorios interiores. Los resultados obtenidos más destacables en el caso de España son: primero, los municipios con una mayor calidad de vida percibida son los integrados en el Arco Mediterráneo; segundo, durante los últimos años se ha producido una reducción significativa de las disparidades en cuanto a calidad de vida entre los municipios españoles; tercero, se detecta una relación inversa entre tamaño del municipio y calidad de vida; y, por último, en general el público asocia una mayor calidad de vida a municipios más próximos frente a los más distantes de su residencia actual. [ENG] This dissertation is focused on the location choices made by firms and people, with special emphasis on the role played by space. Central to this enquiry has been the hypothesis that in their decisions both type of agents maximise their expected utility from locating in one particular place or another. Within this basic framework, the research is aimed at the evaluation of the influence that the characteristics of a destination has on location choices. The first part of the dissertation is devoted to the spatial location of firms. Our main hypothesis regarding this issue implies that the expected firm’s profits associated to the location in a place is affected not only by the specific attributes of that destination, but also by the characteristics of nearby locations because of the likely presence of spatial effects or spillovers. Thus, we have extended the standard discrete choice model by introducing an additional term that captures the strength that neighbourhood effects exert in firms’ location choices. Estimates from this econometric specification in a sample of Spanish firms show that the attributes of neighbours clearly influence the attractiveness of a municipality for new establishments. However, the empirical results also reveal significant differences in the relevance of spatial spillovers in the location decision depending on the type of activity the firm develops. In this respect, neighbouring area characteristics seem to be particularly important in the case of high-tech manufacturing industries. We also find that the geographical scope of the spatial spillovers are conditioned by the accessibility of the destination: more central locations have the ability to generate more intense spillovers over a shorter spatial range, however. The second part of the dissertation shifts the focus of the analysis to issues relative to the location choices of people that are reflected by migratory flows. Firstly, we analyse the determinants of migrations within a theoretical framework that distinguished between the decision to leave the current location, and the choice of new place to live. Even though there may be countless individual motivations and migrant attributes affecting migration decisions, our main interest is on the role played by the characteristics of each municipality. Consequently, for each stage we have considered a discrete choice econometric model where both the probability of departure from a given municipality and its probability of being chosen as destination by migrants are represented as functions of the attributes of the municipality itself. Estimates for internal migrations in Spain suggest that migratory flows are decisively contributing to the suburbanisation process that spans the metropolitan areas. Moreover, we have found that labour market and housing market conditions are particularly relevant as determinants of the migratory decisions. Regarding unemployment, destinations with the highest unemployment rates are avoided by migrants but, at the same time, a high level of unemployment at the origin also deters out-migration. On the other hand, home-ownership acts as a major obstacle to out-migration, while the availability of home accommodation in a municipality influences its attractiveness for migrants. Finally, we exploit the pattern of migratory flows as a source of information about the quality of life associated with living in each destination. We assume that people migrates towards locations where quality of life is higher, so that migratory flows reflects differences in people’s perceived quality of life. Thus we develop a methodology that allows us to compute quantitative measures of well-being in each municipality from the observed migratory flows. After applying this methodology to the Spanish municipalities we have found that municipalities in the Mediterranean Arc are those with the highest values of the index of quality of life. The empirical results also reveal the existence of a process of convergence in terms of quality of life among them. Furthermore, we have found that people expect the highest quality of life conditions from living in medium sized municipalities located within a rather short-distance range from the current place of residence.Escuela Internacional de DoctoradoUniversidad Politécnica de CartagenaPrograma de Doctorado Interuniversitario en Economía. Programa DEcIDE

Industry 4.0 and Regional Transformations

This volume brings together expert contributors to explore opportunities and challenges that Industry 4.0 is likely to pose for regions, firms and jobs in Europe. Drawing on theory and empirical cases, it considers emerging issues like servitization, new innovation models for local production systems, and the increase in reshoring

5G: 2020 and Beyond

The future society would be ushered in a new communication era with the emergence of 5G. 5G would be significantly different, especially, in terms of architecture and operation in comparison with the previous communication generations (4G, 3G...). This book discusses the various aspects of the architecture, operation, possible challenges, and mechanisms to overcome them. Further, it supports users? interac- tion through communication devices relying on Human Bond Communication and COmmunication-NAvigation- SENsing- SErvices (CONASENSE).Topics broadly covered in this book are; • Wireless Innovative System for Dynamically Operating Mega Communications (WISDOM)• Millimeter Waves and Spectrum Management• Cyber Security• Device to Device Communicatio

Industrial clusters in local and regional economies: a post Porter approach to the identification & evaluation of clusters in North Dublin

In a departure from the predominantly Porter (1990, 1998) influenced cluster studies that weie pei formed on Irish manufacturing throughout the 1990s i.e. studies which examined primarily market based relationships in the national context, this dissertation has focused on local and regional industry concentrations and the nature of inter-firm relationships within those concentrations Underpinning this approach is a bioad theoretical framework that combines three streams of related literature industrial districts, Porter's clusters and regional systems of innovation This alternative approach is applied to the local economy of North Dublin wheie analysis of region-specific employment data using location quotients indicates a number of spatially concentrated industrial sectors We then pose the question Do spatial concentrations o f industry in North Dublin constitute clusters? Using a case study approach we answer this question in relation to three traditional sectois Fish piocessing and preservation, Paper print and publishing, and Bakery food products We find that, for the most part, spatial concentrations do not constitute clusters, at least not in the Portenan sense of the term Despite this, elements or characteristics of clustcis are identified in two of the three sectors Using a simple analytical framework based on contextual and transactional environments we compare and contrast the inter-firm dynamics of each of these tiaditional sectors We identify a number of factors of each of the sector’s tiansactional and contextual environments that have shaped the nature of interaction between and among firms and attribute the disparate trajectories in firms’ interactive piocesses to these sectoral difference

5G: 2020 and Beyond

The future society would be ushered in a new communication era with the emergence of 5G. 5G would be significantly different, especially, in terms of architecture and operation in comparison with the previous communication generations (4G, 3G...). This book discusses the various aspects of the architecture, operation, possible challenges, and mechanisms to overcome them. Further, it supports users? interac- tion through communication devices relying on Human Bond Communication and COmmunication-NAvigation- SENsing- SErvices (CONASENSE).Topics broadly covered in this book are; • Wireless Innovative System for Dynamically Operating Mega Communications (WISDOM)• Millimeter Waves and Spectrum Management• Cyber Security• Device to Device Communicatio