Enhanced Location And Positioning In Wimax Networks With Virtual Mimo Base Station

Location and Positioning (L&P) techniques which utilize wireless broadband networks are often considered by the wireless communications industries to be a means for improving overall system performance and providing value added services. Conventional L&P methods rely on the availability of base station (BS) locations as well as the mitigation of propagation effects. It is known that location estimation accuracy suffers in poor geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) caused by BS location as conventional location algorithms generate large GDOP values which correspond to poor geometrical topology. In addition, non line of sight (NLOS) effects cause large errors in time of arrival (TOA) readings, which affecting mobile station (MS) estimation accuracy. In this thesis a new concept of virtual BS (VirBS) utilizing multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technology has been introduced and successfully applied to improve L&P accuracy. The performance of the proposed algorithm has been evaluated via computer simulations. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm increased L&P accuracy without additional expenditure on network architecture. Furthermore, a new hybrid algorithm enhancement of mobile station (MS) location estimation by using a single MIMO base station (SMBS) with the virtual base station has been introduced. The SMBS algorithm with virtual base station utilizes both AOA and AOD measurement parameter (SMVirBS). The developed algorithm includes the effect of the geometric dilution of precision (GDOP) to assist with the location estimation accuracy. Simulation results show that the proposed technique outperforms the linear least square (LLS) algorithm in terms of estimated location accuracy

SymbioCity: Smart Cities for Smarter Networks

The "Smart City" (SC) concept revolves around the idea of embodying cutting-edge ICT solutions in the very fabric of future cities, in order to offer new and better services to citizens while lowering the city management costs, both in monetary, social, and environmental terms. In this framework, communication technologies are perceived as subservient to the SC services, providing the means to collect and process the data needed to make the services function. In this paper, we propose a new vision in which technology and SC services are designed to take advantage of each other in a symbiotic manner. According to this new paradigm, which we call "SymbioCity", SC services can indeed be exploited to improve the performance of the same communication systems that provide them with data. Suggestive examples of this symbiotic ecosystem are discussed in the paper. The dissertation is then substantiated in a proof-of-concept case study, where we show how the traffic monitoring service provided by the London Smart City initiative can be used to predict the density of users in a certain zone and optimize the cellular service in that area.Comment: 14 pages, submitted for publication to ETT Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologie

Will SDN be part of 5G?

For many, this is no longer a valid question and the case is considered settled with SDN/NFV (Software Defined Networking/Network Function Virtualization) providing the inevitable innovation enablers solving many outstanding management issues regarding 5G. However, given the monumental task of softwarization of radio access network (RAN) while 5G is just around the corner and some companies have started unveiling their 5G equipment already, the concern is very realistic that we may only see some point solutions involving SDN technology instead of a fully SDN-enabled RAN. This survey paper identifies all important obstacles in the way and looks at the state of the art of the relevant solutions. This survey is different from the previous surveys on SDN-based RAN as it focuses on the salient problems and discusses solutions proposed within and outside SDN literature. Our main focus is on fronthaul, backward compatibility, supposedly disruptive nature of SDN deployment, business cases and monetization of SDN related upgrades, latency of general purpose processors (GPP), and additional security vulnerabilities, softwarization brings along to the RAN. We have also provided a summary of the architectural developments in SDN-based RAN landscape as not all work can be covered under the focused issues. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on the state of the art of SDN-based RAN and clearly points out the gaps in the technology.Comment: 33 pages, 10 figure