Coopetitive business models in future mobile broadband with licensed shared access (LSA)

6siopenSpectrum scarcity forces mobile network operators (MNOs) providing mobile broadband services to develop new business models that address spectrum sharing. It engages MNOs into coopetitive relationship with incumbents. Licensed Shared Access (LSA) concept complements traditional licensing and helps MNOs to access new spectrum bands on a shared basis. This paper discusses spectrum sharing with LSA from business perspective. It describes how coopetition and business model are linked conceptually, and identifies the influence of coopetition on future business models in LSA. We develop business models for dominant and challenger MNOs in traditional licensing and future with LSA. The results indicate that coopetition and business model concepts are linked via value co-creation and value co-capture. LSA offers different business opportunities to dominant and challenger MNOs. Offering, value proposition, customer segments and differentiation in business models become critical in mobile broadband.openP. Ahokangas; M. Matinmikko; I. Atkova; L.F. Minervini; S. Yrjölä; M. MustonenP., Ahokangas; M., Matinmikko; I., Atkova; Minervini, LEO FULVIO; S., Yrjölä; M., Mustone

Transcranial magnetic stimulation set-up for small animals

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is widely applied on humans for research and clinical purposes. TMS studies on small animals, e.g., rodents, can provide valuable knowledge of the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms. Administering TMS on small animals is, however, prone to technical difficulties, mainly due to their small head size. In this study, we aimed to develop an energy-efficient coil and a compatible experimental set-up for administering TMS on rodents. We applied a convex optimization process to develop a minimum-energy coil for TMS on rats. As the coil windings of the optimized coil extend to a wide region, we designed and manufactured a holder on which the rat lies upside down, with its head supported by the coil. We used the set-up to record TMS-electromyography, with electromyography recorded from limb muscles with intramuscular electrodes. The upside-down placement of the rat allowed the operator to easily navigate the TMS without the coil blocking their field of view. With this paradigm, we obtained consistent motor evoked potentials from all tested animals.Peer reviewe

Synthesis, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of 1,3,5-triazines as cannabinoid CB2 receptor agonists

The cannabinoid receptors type 2 (CBR2) are attractive therapeutic targets of the endocannabinoid signaling system (ECS) as they are not displaying the undesired psychotropic and cardiovascular side-effects seen with cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1R) agonists. In continuation of our previous work on 2,4,6-trisubstituted 1,3,5-triazines as potent CB2 agonists, we synthesized an additional series of more polar analogues (1-10), which were found to possess high CB2R agonist activity with enhanced water solubility. The most potent compound in the series was N-(adamantan-1-yl)-4-ethoxy-6-(4-(2-fluoroethyl)piperazin-1-yl)-1,3,5-triazin-2-amine (9) with EC50 value of 0.60nM. To further evaluate the biological effects of the compounds, the selected compounds were tested in vitro against four different cell lines. A human retinal pigment epithelial cell line (ARPE-19) was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity of the compounds whereas an androgen-sensitive human prostate adenocarcinoma cell line (LNCaP), a Jurkat leukemia cell line and a C8161 melanoma cell line were used to assess the antiproliferative activity of the compounds. The most interesting results were obtained for N-(adamantan-1-yl)-4-ethoxy-6-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)-1,3,5-triazin-2-amine (6), which induced cell viability decrease in prostate and leukemia cell lines, and diminished proliferation of C8161 melanoma cells. The results could be reversed in leukemia cells with the selective CB2R antagonist AM630, whereas in prostate cells the AM630 induced a significant cell viability decrease with a mechanism probably unlinked to CB2 cannabinoid receptor. The antiproliferative effect of 6 on the melanoma cells seemed not to be mediated via the CB1R or CB2R. No cytotoxicity was detected against ARPE-19 cell line at concentrations of 1 and 10μM for compound 6. However, at 30μM concentration the compound 6 decreased the cell viability. Finally, in order to estimate in vivo behavior of these compounds, (18)F labeled PET ligand, N-cyclopentyl-4-ethoxy-6-(4-(2-fluoro-18-ethyl)piperazin-1-yl)-1,3,5-triazin-2-amine ([(18)F]5), was synthesized and its biodistribution was determined in healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats. As a result, the tracer showed a rapid (<15min) elimination in urine accompanied by a slower excretion via the hepatobiliary route. In conclusion, we further demonstrated that 1,3,5-triazine scaffold serves as a suitable template for the design of highly potent CB2R agonists with reasonable water solubility properties. The compounds may be useful when studying the role of the endocannabinoid system in different diseases. The triazine scaffold is also a promising candidate for the development of new CB2R PET ligands

Spectrum management in the 6G era:the role of regulation and spectrum sharing

Abstract Spectrum management plays a key role in the deployment of new wireless technologies. Regulators in the 5G era have introduced a variety of spectrum management approaches that allow the deployment of new cellular networks including traditional exclusively nationwide licensing, local licensing and unlicensed approaches involving varying levels of spectrum sharing. The upcoming 6G era in the 2030s will face new challenges resulting from the ever-increasing variety of considered spectrum bands for 6G with drastically different propagation characteristics and the increasing fragmentation of spectrum management approaches. This paper provides an overview of spectrum management for mobile communication networks including the most recent 5G spectrum decisions. The paper discusses the role of spectrum sharing in the upcoming 6G era and related enabling technologies. The paper opens the door for 6G spectrum discussions with an emphasis on what is different in 6G while taking into account the challenges arising from the underlying regulatory environment

White paper on business of 6G

Abstract 6G vision and the industry consensus of underlying technology enablers have come a long way and will shape the new access, networking, and service domains in future mobile communications. These novel features promise countless opportunities for service innovation and business efficiencies, creating an unprecedented impact on multiple vertical sectors. 6G will connect worlds in novel and innovative ways — the physical and digital worlds will be deeply intertwined in real time, human biological systems will be seamlessly coupled, and at the same time, there will be a new human sensory and cognitive dimension across the scenarios of the 6G experience. Key technology-enabling themes to be explored will include the pervasive leverage of machine learning and artificial intelligence across architectural domains to flexibly define the air interface, as well as service management and orchestration in the 6G “network of networks” topology and platform ecosystem. Terahertz (THz) research is one of the prominent topics, utilizing spectral bands of above 100 GHz for both communications and sensing purposes, thereby enabling connectivity data speeds in the Terabit/s range. We foresee millions of sub-networks and devices becoming the network in conjunction with extreme performance attributes in terms of both sub-millisecond latency, high reliability and time-sensitive determinism, and advanced ways to assure security, privacy, and trust. In line with 6G vision and technology enablers, developing products, services, and vertical applications for the future digitized society in the 6G era requires a multidisciplinary approach and a redefinition of how we create, deliver, and consume network resources, data, and services for both communications and sensing purposes. This development will change and disrupt the traditional business models and ecosystem roles of digital service providers, as well as open the market for key stakeholders in the 6G era like digital service operators, cloud operators, and resource brokers. Furthermore, sustainable development is a highly complex area that will call for major changes in industrialized society in the long run. This white paper discusses the unprecedented opportunities to enable and empower multiple stakeholders to more actively participate in the future 6G ecosystem via novel sustainable open ecosystemic business models with flexible integration of long tail services with tailored performance attributes. This research adopts a qualitative scenario planning method, portraying three scenario themes resulting in a total of 12 scenarios for the futures of the 6G business. We present both optimistic and pessimistic scenarios, and assess their probability, plausibility, and preferability. By focusing on key trends, their interactions, and irreducible uncertainties, scenario building generates perspectives for the futures within which alternative 6G business strategies have been developed and assessed for a traditional incumbent mobile network operator, and a novel 6G digital service provider stemming from redefined sustainable economics. Value capture in the 6G era requires an understanding of the dynamics of platforms and ecosystems. The results indicate that to reach some of the preferred futures, we should attend to the privacy and security issues related to business and regulation needs: public/governmental, corporate, community, and user perspectives on and aims of governance; ecosystem configuration related to users, decentralized business models, and platforms; user empowerment; and the role of service location-specificity

Visions for 6G futures:a causal layered analysis

Abstract This study extends and deepens the joint 6G vision building stemming from use cases, enabling technologies, key performance indicators (KPIs), key value indicators (KVIs), and business scenario litanies towards the social, the worldview, and the metaphors layers utilizing causal layered analysis (CLA) method. 6G visions are explored from different national perspectives assessing future initiatives from China, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and the US. The multiple ideologies and epistemes of the stakeholders are mapped to create a transformed future vision emphasizing the importance of 6G design from the triple bottom line of sustainability, including social, economic, and environmental perspectives. Collaborative research, harmonized standardization, and anticipatory regulation efforts were found essential in developing trustworthy and general-purpose 6G technologies for users and developers

Micro operators for ultra-dense network deployment with network slicing and spectrum micro licensing

Abstract 5G emerges with ultra-dense deployments of small cell networks to address the location specific service demand of various vertical sectors. While the development of technical solutions for network densification is progressing, less attention has been paid to local operator models and location specific service offerings. Efficient local service delivery promoting innovation and competition calls for opening of the mobile market for new entrants to operate local radio access networks (RAN) and 3rd parties to integrate their services into the networks. This paper applies the recently proposed micro operator concept to local ultra-dense networks where different stakeholders can become micro operators and deploy their small cell RAN for tailored service delivery. We depict the resulting high-level architecture and enabling techniques focusing on network slicing and spectrum micro licensing. While network slicing is well addressed in 5G research from the mobile network operator (MNO) view for providing an end-to-end connection for 3rd parties, there is little work on how the ultra-dense small cell RAN could be operated by another stakeholder. Micro operators could offer the RAN or end-to-end network slice that comprises of network elements belonging to different stakeholders with the help of local spectrum micro licensing with quality guarantees

How could 6G transform engineering platforms towards ecosystemic business models?

Abstract Developing products, services and vertical applications for the future digitized society in the 6G era requires a multidisciplinary approach and a re-imagining of how we create, deliver and consume network resources, data and services. This development will change the traditional business models and ecosystem roles, as well as open the market for new stakeholders like micro-operators, cloud operators and resource brokers. Paper discusses unprecedented opportunities of enabling and stimulating multiple stakeholders to have a more active participation in the future 6G ecosystem via platform-based ecosystemic business models. The research extends the product platform and service modularity concepts beyond connectivity innovations towards multisided transactional ecosystem platforms

Assessment of spectrum management approaches in offshore private industrial 5G networks

Abstract Wireless communication research has recently expanded to address the use of 5G in enterprise application, which has led to the introduction of local private industrial networks. At the same time, the use of wireless communication services offshore has increased both in improving the productivity of the incumbent oil and gas segment, and particularly in enabling sustainable windmill park implementations. These developments call for novel, flexible and scalable spectrum management models to meet the operational requirements of these critical infrastructure verticals. This paper investigates spectrum management approaches and regulatory decisions for private mobile industrial communication networks for the offshore applications. The findings indicate that in offshore areas where significant natural resources, such as oil have been utilized, the regulators have defined mechanisms to make spectrum available while the regulation varies between countries. Traditionally, the regulators have been oriented towards public mobile networks and their service areas have been land oriented. The basis for the jurisdiction for offshore deployments is very different, and also the radio environment at sea differs significantly from that on land which calls for new authorization mechanisms and coordination approaches, and different technical requirements