Insights in the cost of continuous broadband Internet on trains for multi-service deployments by multiple actors with resource sharing

The economic viability of broadband Internet services on trains has always been proved difficult, mainly due to a high investment cost and low willingness to pay by train passengers, but also due to unused opportunities such as non-passenger services (e.g. train performance monitoring, crew services) and optimization of the resources consumed to offer Internet services. Evaluating opportunities to improve the return on investment is therefore essential towards profitability of the business case. By efficiently sharing resources amongst services, costs can be pooled over several services in order to reduce the investment cost per service. Current techno-economic evaluation models are hard to apply to cost allocation in a multi-service deployment with multiple actors and resource sharing. We therefore propose a new evaluation model and apply it to a deployment of Internet services on trains. We start with a detailed analysis of the technical architecture required to provide Internet access on trains. For each component, we investigate the impact by the different services on resource consumption. The proposed techno-economic evaluation model is then applied in order to calculate the total cost and allocate the used and unused resources to the appropriate services. In a final step, we calculate the business case for each stakeholder involved in the offering of these services. This paper details the proposed model and reports on our findings for a multi-service deployment by multiple actors. Results show important benefits for the case that considers the application of resource sharing in a multi-service, multi-actor scenario and the proposed model produces insights in the contributors to the cost per service and the unused amount of a resource. In addition, ex-ante insights in the cost flows per involved actor are obtained and the model can easily be extended to include revenue flows to evaluate the profitability per actor. As a consequence, the proposed model should be considered to support and stimulate upcoming multi-actor investment decisions for Internet-based multi-service offerings on-board trains with resource sharing

Internet on trains: a multi-criteria analysis of on-board deployment options for on-train cellular connectivity

A train journey could be an ideal moment to answer a phone call, read an e-mail or browse the Internet on a personal device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. Unfortunately, a train is a very challenging environment to provide a mobile network service to due to attenuation and bad coverage leading to dropped phone calls and unreachable Internet services. Improving mobile network service on-board trains, however, is costly and should be planned carefully. A multi-criteria comparison of different deployment options is therefore essential toward an optimal investment decision. But, the impact of the choice of on-board distribution system is often overlooked. This article compares three types of on-board signal repeaters side-by-side: IP-based data access points, wideband repeaters and small cells. The differences in terms of network coverage, human exposure, deployment cost, revenue model and telecommunications policy are analyzed for each of them

New Waves of IoT Technologies Research – Transcending Intelligence and Senses at the Edge to Create Multi Experience Environments

The next wave of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) brings new technological developments that incorporate radical advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI), edge computing processing, new sensing capabilities, more security protection and autonomous functions accelerating progress towards the ability for IoT systems to self-develop, self-maintain and self-optimise. The emergence of hyper autonomous IoT applications with enhanced sensing, distributed intelligence, edge processing and connectivity, combined with human augmentation, has the potential to power the transformation and optimisation of industrial sectors and to change the innovation landscape. This chapter is reviewing the most recent advances in the next wave of the IoT by looking not only at the technology enabling the IoT but also at the platforms and smart data aspects that will bring intelligence, sustainability, dependability, autonomy, and will support human-centric solutions.acceptedVersio

Teknoekonominen toteutettavuusanalyysi etäylläpidon liitettävyydestä tehtaissa

Maintenance activities play a major role in factory operations, as they prevent breakdowns and extend machine life. With the advances in sensor, computing and communications technology, sensor data can be increasingly exploited for real-time supervision of machine condition. However, the acquisition of the data is challenging due to proprietary technologies and interfaces applied in Industrial Networks. Therefore, sensor data is rarely utilized in other processes than automation. As the industry is heading towards a new industrial era, also referred to as Industrial Internet or Industrie 4.0, there is growing need to improve data availability for applications that can realize its potential value. In this research, the focus is on the feasibility of remote maintenance deployment in factories. The topic is approached from the connectivity viewpoint. The research is conducted by reviewing the literature, and by interviewing numerous industry experts regarding the connectivity and data exploitation in factories. These form the basis for the value network analysis, in which Value Network Configuration (VNC) method is applied, to analyze the value distribution among different actors in alternative remote connection cases. As a result of the VNC analysis, three alternative value network configurations are formed. They provide a high-level technical architecture of the remote connection implementation and discuss the accumulated value of each actor concerning remote maintenance service. The insights gained from the VNCs and literature are then employed to propose a future technical architecture for remote maintenance connectivity in factories.Huoltotoimet ovat suuressa roolissa tehtaan toiminnassa, sillä ne ehkäisevät konerikkoja ja pidentävät koneen käyttöikää. Sensori-, laskenta- ja tietoliikenneteknologian kehittymisen johdosta sensoridataa voidaan hyödyntää yhä enemmän koneen kunnon reaaliaikaiseen valvontaan. Datan saanti on kuitenkin haastavaa teollisissa verkoissa käytettyjen sovelluskohtaisten teknologioiden ja liitäntöjen takia. Sen vuoksi sensoridataa hyödynnetään harvoin muissa prosesseissa kuin automaatiossa. Teollisuuden suunnatessa kohti uutta teollista aikakautta, joka tunnetaan myös nimillä Teollinen Internet ja Teollisuus 4.0, on datan saatavuutta parannettava sovelluskohteille, jotka voivat realisoida sen potentiaalisen arvon. Tämä tutkimus tarkastelee etäylläpidon käyttöönoton toteutettavuutta tehtaissa. Aihetta lähestytään liitettävyyden näkökulmasta. Tutkimus suoritetaan tarkastelemalla kirjallisuutta sekä haastattelemalla lukuisia teollisuuden asiantuntijoita koskien liitettävyyttä ja datan hyödyntämistä tehtaissa. Nämä muodostavat perustan arvoverkkoanalyysille, jossa sovelletaan arvoverkkokonfiguraatio-menetelmää, jolla analysoidaan arvon jakautumista eri toimijoiden kesken vaihtoehtoisissa etäyhteystapauksissa. Arvoverkkokonfiguraatioanalyysin tuloksena muodostetaan kolme vaihtoehtoista arvoverkkokonfiguraatiota. Ne tarjoavat korkean tason teknisen arkkitehtuurin etäyhteyden implementaatiosta ja tarkastelevat toimijoiden kerryttämää arvoa etäylläpitopalvelun osalta. Arvoverkkokonfiguraatioista ja kirjallisuudesta saatujen näkemysten pohjalta esitellään lisäksi tulevaisuuden tekninen arkkitehtuuri etäylläpidon liitettävyydelle tehtaissa

Building the Future Internet through FIRE

The Internet as we know it today is the result of a continuous activity for improving network communications, end user services, computational processes and also information technology infrastructures. The Internet has become a critical infrastructure for the human-being by offering complex networking services and end-user applications that all together have transformed all aspects, mainly economical, of our lives. Recently, with the advent of new paradigms and the progress in wireless technology, sensor networks and information systems and also the inexorable shift towards everything connected paradigm, first as known as the Internet of Things and lately envisioning into the Internet of Everything, a data-driven society has been created. In a data-driven society, productivity, knowledge, and experience are dependent on increasingly open, dynamic, interdependent and complex Internet services. The challenge for the Internet of the Future design is to build robust enabling technologies, implement and deploy adaptive systems, to create business opportunities considering increasing uncertainties and emergent systemic behaviors where humans and machines seamlessly cooperate

Satellite integration in 5G : contribution on network architectures and traffic engineering solutions for hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile backhauling

The recent technological advances in the satellite domain such as the use of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) with throughput rates that are magnitudes higher than with previous ones, or the use of large non- Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites constellations, etc, are reducing the price per bit and enhancing the Quality of Service (QoS) metrics such as latency, etc., changing the way that the capacity is being brought to the market and making it more attractive for other services such as satellite broadband communications. These new capabilities coupled with the advantages offered by satellite communications such as the unique wide-scale geographical coverage, inherent broadcast/multicast capabilities and highly reliable connectivity, anticipate new opportunities for the integration of the satellite component into the 5G ecosystem. One of the most compelling scenarios is mobile backhauling, where satellite capacity can be used to complement the terrestrial backhauling infrastructure, not only in hard to reach areas, but also for more efficient traffic delivery to Radio Access Network (RAN) nodes, increased resiliency and better support for fast, temporary cell deployments and moving cells. In this context, this thesis work focuses on achieving better satellite-terrestrial backhaul network integration through the development of Traffic Engineering (TE) strategies to manage in a better way the dynamically steerable satellite provisioned capacity. To do this, this thesis work first takes the steps in the definition of an architectural framework that enables a better satellite-terrestrial mobile backhaul network integration, managing the satellite capacity as a constituent part of a Software Defined Networking (SDN) -based TE for mobile backhaul network. Under this basis, this thesis work first proposes and assesses a model for the analysis of capacity and traffic management strategies for hybrid satellite-terrestrial mobile backhauling networks that rely on SDN for fine-grained traffic steering. The performance analysis is carried out in terms of capacity gains that can be achieved when the satellite backhaul capacity is used for traffic overflow, taking into account the placement of the satellite capacity at different traffic aggregation levels and considering a spatial correlation of the traffic demand. Later, the thesis work presents the development of SDN-based TE strategies and algorithms that exploits the dynamically steerable satellite capacity provisioned for resilience purposes to better utilize the satellite capacity by maximizing the network utility under both failure and non-failure conditions in some terrestrial links, under the consideration of elastic, inelastic and unicast and multicast traffic. The performance analysis is carried out in terms of global network utility, fairness and connexion rejection rates compared to non SDN-based TE applications. Finally, sustained in the defined architectural framework designs, the thesis work presents an experimental Proof of Concept (PoC) and validation of a satellite-terrestrial backhaul links integration solution that builts upon SDN technologies for the realization of End-to-End (E2E) TE applications in mobile backhauling networks with a satellite component, assessing the feasibility of the proposed SDN-based integration solution under a practical laboratory setting that combines the use of commercial, experimentation-oriented and emulation equipment and software.Los recientes avances tecnológicos en el dominio de los satélites, como el uso de satélites de alto rendimiento (HTS) con tasas de rendimiento que son magnitudes más altas que los anteriores, o el uso de grandes constelaciones de satélites de órbita no geoestacionaria (GEO), etc. están reduciendo el precio por bit y mejorando las métricas de Calidad de Servicio (QoS) como la latencia, etc., cambiando la forma en que la capacidad se está llevando al mercado, y haciéndola más atractiva para otros servicios como las comunicaciones de banda ancha por satélite. Estas nuevas capacidades, junto con las ventajas ofrecidas por las comunicaciones por satélite, como la cobertura geográfica a gran escala, las inherentes capacidades de difusión / multidifusión y la conectividad altamente confiable, anticipan nuevas oportunidades para la integración de la componente satelital al ecosistema 5G. Uno de los escenarios más atractivos es el backhauling móvil, donde la capacidad del satélite se puede usar para complementar la infraestructura de backhauling terrestre, no solo en áreas de difícil acceso, sino también para la entrega de tráfico de manera más eficiente a los nodos de la Red de Acceso (RAN), una mayor resiliencia y mejor soporte para implementaciones rápidas y temporales de células, así como células en movimiento. En este contexto, este trabajo de tesis se centra en lograr una mejor integración de la red híbrida de backhaul satélital-terrestre, a través del desarrollo de estrategias de ingeniería de tráfico (TE) para gestionar de una mejor manera la capacidad dinámicamente orientable del satélite. Para hacer esto, este trabajo de tesis primero toma los pasos en la definición de un marco de arquitectura que permite una mejor integración de una red híbrida satelital-terrestre de backhaul móvil, gestionando la capacidad del satélite como parte constitutiva de un TE basado en Software Defined Networking (SDN). Bajo esta base, este trabajo de tesis primero propone y evalúa un modelo para el análisis de la capacidad y las estrategias de gestión del tráfico para redes híbridas satelital-terrestre de backhaul móvil basadas en SDN para la dirección de tráfico. El análisis de rendimiento se lleva a cabo en términos de aumento de capacidad que se puede lograr cuando la capacidad de la red de backhaul por satélite se utiliza para el desborde de tráfico, teniendo en cuenta la ubicación de la capacidad del satélite en diferentes niveles de agregación de tráfico y considerando una correlación espacial de la demanda de tráfico. Posteriormente, el trabajo de tesis presenta el desarrollo de estrategias y algoritmos de TE basados en SDN que explotan la capacidad dinámicamente orientable del satelite, provista con fines de resiliencia para utilizar de mejor manera la capacidad satelital al maximizar la utilidad de red en condiciones de falla y no falla en algunos enlaces terrestres, y bajo la consideración de tráfico elástico, inelástico y de unidifusión y multidifusión. El análisis de rendimiento se lleva a cabo en términos de tasas de rechazo, de utilidad, y equidad en comparación con las aplicaciones de TE no basadas en SDN. Finalmente, basado en la definición del diseño de marco de arquitectura, el trabajo de tesis presenta una Prueba de concepto (PoC) experimental y la validación de una solución de integración de enlaces de backhaul satelital-terrestre que se basa en las tecnologías SDN para la realización de aplicaciones de TE de extremo a extremo (E2E) en redes de backhaul móviles, evaluando la viabilidad de la solución propuesta de integración basada en SDN en un entorno práctico de laboratorio que combina el uso de equipos y software comerciales, orientados a la experimentación y emulación.Postprint (published version