Data mining and predictive analytics application on cellular networks to monitor and optimize quality of service and customer experience

This research study focuses on the application models of Data Mining and Machine Learning covering cellular network traffic, in the objective to arm Mobile Network Operators with full view of performance branches (Services, Device, Subscribers). The purpose is to optimize and minimize the time to detect service and subscriber patterns behaviour. Different data mining techniques and predictive algorithms have been applied on real cellular network datasets to uncover different data usage patterns using specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Quality Indicators (KQI). The following tools will be used to develop the concept: RStudio for Machine Learning and process visualization, Apache Spark, SparkSQL for data and big data processing and clicData for service Visualization. Two use cases have been studied during this research. In the first study, the process of Data and predictive Analytics are fully applied in the field of Telecommunications to efficiently address users’ experience, in the goal of increasing customer loyalty and decreasing churn or customer attrition. Using real cellular network transactions, prediction analytics are used to predict customers who are likely to churn, which can result in revenue loss. Prediction algorithms and models including Classification Tree, Random Forest, Neural Networks and Gradient boosting have been used with an exploratory Data Analysis, determining relationship between predicting variables. The data is segmented in to two, a training set to train the model and a testing set to test the model. The evaluation of the best performing model is based on the prediction accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and the Confusion Matrix on the test set. The second use case analyses Service Quality Management using modern data mining techniques and the advantages of in-memory big data processing with Apache Spark and SparkSQL to save cost on tool investment; thus, a low-cost Service Quality Management model is proposed and analyzed. With increase in Smart phone adoption, access to mobile internet services, applications such as streaming, interactive chats require a certain service level to ensure customer satisfaction. As a result, an SQM framework is developed with Service Quality Index (SQI) and Key Performance Index (KPI). The research concludes with recommendations and future studies around modern technology applications in Telecommunications including Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud and recommender systems.Cellular networks have evolved and are still evolving, from traditional GSM (Global System for Mobile Communication) Circuit switched which only supported voice services and extremely low data rate, to LTE all Packet networks accommodating high speed data used for various service applications such as video streaming, video conferencing, heavy torrent download; and for say in a near future the roll-out of the Fifth generation (5G) cellular networks, intended to support complex technologies such as IoT (Internet of Things), High Definition video streaming and projected to cater massive amount of data. With high demand on network services and easy access to mobile phones, billions of transactions are performed by subscribers. The transactions appear in the form of SMSs, Handovers, voice calls, web browsing activities, video and audio streaming, heavy downloads and uploads. Nevertheless, the stormy growth in data traffic and the high requirements of new services introduce bigger challenges to Mobile Network Operators (NMOs) in analysing the big data traffic flowing in the network. Therefore, Quality of Service (QoS) and Quality of Experience (QoE) turn in to a challenge. Inefficiency in mining, analysing data and applying predictive intelligence on network traffic can produce high rate of unhappy customers or subscribers, loss on revenue and negative services’ perspective. Researchers and Service Providers are investing in Data mining, Machine Learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence) methods to manage services and experience. This research study focuses on the application models of Data Mining and Machine Learning covering network traffic, in the objective to arm Mobile Network Operators with full view of performance branches (Services, Device, Subscribers). The purpose is to optimize and minimize the time to detect service and subscriber patterns behaviour. Different data mining techniques and predictive algorithms will be applied on cellular network datasets to uncover different data usage patterns using specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Key Quality Indicators (KQI). The following tools will be used to develop the concept: R-Studio for Machine Learning, Apache Spark, SparkSQL for data processing and clicData for Visualization.Electrical and Mining EngineeringM. Tech (Electrical Engineering

A survey of machine learning techniques applied to self organizing cellular networks

In this paper, a survey of the literature of the past fifteen years involving Machine Learning (ML) algorithms applied to self organizing cellular networks is performed. In order for future networks to overcome the current limitations and address the issues of current cellular systems, it is clear that more intelligence needs to be deployed, so that a fully autonomous and flexible network can be enabled. This paper focuses on the learning perspective of Self Organizing Networks (SON) solutions and provides, not only an overview of the most common ML techniques encountered in cellular networks, but also manages to classify each paper in terms of its learning solution, while also giving some examples. The authors also classify each paper in terms of its self-organizing use-case and discuss how each proposed solution performed. In addition, a comparison between the most commonly found ML algorithms in terms of certain SON metrics is performed and general guidelines on when to choose each ML algorithm for each SON function are proposed. Lastly, this work also provides future research directions and new paradigms that the use of more robust and intelligent algorithms, together with data gathered by operators, can bring to the cellular networks domain and fully enable the concept of SON in the near future

Machine Learning at the Edge: A Data-Driven Architecture with Applications to 5G Cellular Networks

The fifth generation of cellular networks (5G) will rely on edge cloud deployments to satisfy the ultra-low latency demand of future applications. In this paper, we argue that such deployments can also be used to enable advanced data-driven and Machine Learning (ML) applications in mobile networks. We propose an edge-controller-based architecture for cellular networks and evaluate its performance with real data from hundreds of base stations of a major U.S. operator. In this regard, we will provide insights on how to dynamically cluster and associate base stations and controllers, according to the global mobility patterns of the users. Then, we will describe how the controllers can be used to run ML algorithms to predict the number of users in each base station, and a use case in which these predictions are exploited by a higher-layer application to route vehicular traffic according to network Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). We show that the prediction accuracy improves when based on machine learning algorithms that rely on the controllers' view and, consequently, on the spatial correlation introduced by the user mobility, with respect to when the prediction is based only on the local data of each single base station.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables. IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computin

Wireless Communications in the Era of Big Data

The rapidly growing wave of wireless data service is pushing against the boundary of our communication network's processing power. The pervasive and exponentially increasing data traffic present imminent challenges to all the aspects of the wireless system design, such as spectrum efficiency, computing capabilities and fronthaul/backhaul link capacity. In this article, we discuss the challenges and opportunities in the design of scalable wireless systems to embrace such a "bigdata" era. On one hand, we review the state-of-the-art networking architectures and signal processing techniques adaptable for managing the bigdata traffic in wireless networks. On the other hand, instead of viewing mobile bigdata as a unwanted burden, we introduce methods to capitalize from the vast data traffic, for building a bigdata-aware wireless network with better wireless service quality and new mobile applications. We highlight several promising future research directions for wireless communications in the mobile bigdata era.Comment: This article is accepted and to appear in IEEE Communications Magazin