ICT and local development: a case study of the metropolitan area of Cagliari

This paper provides a broad description of the local infrastructure and economy in the Cagliari area, with a special focus on the sector of information and communication technology. It argues that, while the ICT sector has become in time a significant industrial reality in the Cagliari area, it has not reached the dimensions and status of a veritable technology district, and the drive for innovation and corporate success appears to have lost its momentum

Real-time load optimization for multimedia delivery content over heterogeneuos wireless network using a MEW approach

The significant increment in the number of users that need broadband multimedia system, relative radio resources, and the evolution of the devices has encouraged to search for different methods to manage heterogeneous wireless networks. One solution to this problem is to make traffic balancing on heterogeneous networks, so that none of the available networks for a given user will be saturated avoiding performance decay. This paper proposes a novel Multiplicative Exponential Weighting (MEW) approach that manages the access network selection. MEW combines several inputs such as power of the received signal, throughput, packet delay, cost-per-user, the requested type of traffic, and type of device. The obtained results have shown an improvement of 15% in average PSNR, and 20% in terms of delay and throughput, compared to the algorithms presented in the literature

Additive Logarithmic Weighting for Balancing Video Delivery Over Heterogeneous Networks

The demand of media delivery services has increased with the popularity of social media and with the evolution of the user's devices (i.e., smartphones, laptops, and tablets) pushing towards new contents distribution models. The coexistence of go-live and on-demand media content requires a combined broadcast/unicast delivery model with the efficient management of the wireless access as a key issue. A twofold target needs to be reached: optimizing the load balance among coexisting networks and offering adequate quality of service (QoS) to users. To achieve this target for mobile video service delivery over heterogeneous networks (HetNet) scenarios, this paper proposes a solution based on an additive logarithmic weighting (ALOW) algorithm combining received signal power, network load, packet delay, user's equipment, and user's credit budget. ALOW is optimized by means of a cooperative game theory (GATH) approach. The proposed solution, named ALOWGATH (i.e., ALOW + GATH), has been tested on realistic HetNet scenarios and compared to the state of the art of the network selection and balancing algorithms. Results show an improved performance in terms of throughput, satisfaction index and overall video quality delivered, with reduced computational complexity

A Traffic Type-based Differentiated Reputation Algorithm for Radio Resource Allocation during Multi-service Content Delivery in 5G Heterogeneous Scenarios

The next-generation network environment is expected to include the networks of diverse types, associated with heterogeneous performance. At the same time, this heterogeneous network environment will be used to deliver various services with different requirements. In order to support high quality of experience for the users' availing from these services, there is a need for a solution to the complex problem of selecting the appropriate network support for each user service type. This paper introduces the network Traffic tYpe-based DifferEntiated Reputation (TYDER) solution, which differentiates the data delivery process according to its type. TYDER considers network reputation in the context of traffic type requirements in order to increase the delivery performance for the data exchanged. The Comparative testing involving four traffic categories, including video, gaming, browsing, and the Internet of Things, showed how TYDER outperforms a classic solution in terms of major performance metrics

A 5G cellular technology for distributed monitoring and control in smart grid

In Smart Grids the flow of electricity and information is strictly interrelated with the management and control of the electricity supply system. ICT is not only an extension or a modernization of the power system equipment, but a fundamental requirement for supporting the distribution network monitoring, operation and control. To enable monitoring and control of the Smart Grid and accommodate the large realtime data flow between controlled equipment and the distribution management system it is necessary the deployment of advanced sensors and measurement systems along with the communication network infrastructure. In this paper two different strategies for power network monitoring and control are compared: an LTE-based centralized management approach and a 5G-based distributed management approach. The two types of communications systems are compared considering their performances during fault management in a Smart Grid scenario

Multimedia Multicast Services in 5G Networks: Subgrouping and Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access Techniques

The expected growth in mobile video demand over broadband cellular networks is one of the key factors driving the wireless industry to develop the fifth generation of network technology. This scenario is fueling the need for group-oriented services (i.e., multicast and broadcast) in order to efficiently manage the radio resources, and consequently grant different groups of users simultaneous access to the same multimedia content with differentiated quality of service. The evolved multimedia broadcast multicast service (eMBMS), standardized by the Third Generation Partnership Project, is one of the technologies likely to be extended to 5G systems with the aim of addressing point-to-multipoint services. In addition, non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) techniques are also being considered as a driver to increase the efficient use of the spectrum in multi-user environments with asymmetric data delivery. The present article proposes the joint use of subgrouping multicast techniques and NOMA in an eMBMS-like scenario. Performance is evaluated in envisaged 5G environments, where different quality video services are delivered to a group of users interested in the same contents

Group-Oriented Broadcasting of Augmented Reality Services over 5G New Radio

Augmented Reality applications represent the current emerging trend of broadcast services whereby users require the same data content. Broadcast applications in smart environments ask for low-latency data transmission, low-energy communication, and location- and customer-based group creation procedures. The standardization efforts done from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to make the 5th generation (5G) a reality have involved also the existing Long Term Evolution (LTE) radio access technology leading to the 5G New Radio (5G-NR) standard. One of the main innovation is the definition of three different Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) tables to allow a differentiation according to the class of devices, grouped into five different categories based on their basic characteristics. 5G broadcast/multicast is one of the topics that is under discussion at 3GPP for 5G phase II (release 17). In this paper, authors focused on a 5G-ready LTE system, referring to real broadcast mobile urban scenarios where users are interested in Augmented Reality (AR) applications. The authors analyzed the Subgrouping Optimal Aggregate Data Rate (SubOptADR) algorithm whereby broadcast destinations are grouped into different subgroups depending on the perceived user equipment (UE) channel quality in order to maximize the Aggregate Data Rate (ADR), which is the sum of data rate values obtained by all the broadcast members. The capabilities of the algorithm are evaluated comparing LTE and 5G-NR networks, focusing on different user classes and type of devices. The paper details three envisaged AR application scenarios, describing the subgrouping optimization algorithm in 5G-NR and showing how group-oriented communications can improve spectrum efficiency in the broadcast of AR services

Mercato dell'home video; Mercato della pubblicit\ue0; I nuovi attori sopra la rete e la sostenibilit\ue0 della filiera di Internet

Il 14\ub0 Rapporto IEM indaga nella prima parte del volume, come di consueto, tutti i mercati dell\u2019industria della comunicazione esaminando volumi, valori e principali trend in essere. Nella seconda parte, l\u2019approfondimento \ue8 quest\u2019anno dedicato al tema delle trasformazioni della catena del valore di Internet: su questo l\u2019Istituto di Economia dei Media della Fondazione Rosselli intende sviluppare un progetto di ricerca pluriennale che metta a fuoco, nel dettaglio, tutte le problematicit\ue0 che stanno emergendo, per favorire lo sviluppo di politiche e strategie economiche volte a migliorare il benessere sociale, in una logica win-win