Irene Macaluso

Trinity College Dublin | TCD · Telecommunications Research Centre

The growing complexity of wireless networks has sparked an upsurge in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the telecommunication industry in recent years. In network slicing, a key component of 5G that enables network operators to lease their resources to third-party tenants, AI models may be employed in complex tasks, such as short-term...

The growing complexity of wireless networks has sparked an upsurge in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) within the telecommunication industry in recent years. In network slicing, a key component of 5G that enables network operators to lease their resources to third-party tenants, AI models may be employed in complex tasks, such as short-term...

Dynamical systems are no strangers in wireless communications. Our story will necessarily involve chaos, but not in the terms in which secure chaotic communications have introduced it: we will look for the chaos, complexity, and dynamics that already exist in everyday wireless communications.

This paper addresses the issue of reliability in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in case of missing sensors measurements due to network or hardware problems. We propose to support the fault detection and classification modules, which are the two critical components of a monitoring system for IIoT, with a generative model. The latter is respons...

Integrated access and bachhaul (IAB), introduced in 3GPP Release 16, is expected to be one of the main enablers for dense deployments in mmWave spectrum. The IAB architecture brings in topology changes, which impact network-related aspects, such as ensuring robust routing of traffic and load-balancing. While an IAB network should be transparent to...

Integrated access and bachhaul (IAB), introduced in 3GPP Release 16, is expected to be one of the main enablers for dense deployments in mmWave spectrum. The IAB architecture brings in topology changes, which impact network-related aspects, such as ensuring robust routing of traffic and load-balancing. While an IAB network should be transparent to...

In this paper, we propose a global digital platform to avoid and combat epidemics by providing relevant real-time information to support selective lockdowns. It leverages the pervasiveness of wireless connectivity while being trustworthy and secure. The proposed system is conceptualized to be decentralized yet federated, based on ubiquitous public...

This paper addresses the issue of reliability in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in case of missing sensors measurements due to network or hardware problems. We propose to support the fault detection and classification modules, which are the two critical components of a monitoring system for IIoT, with a generative model. The latter is respons...

This paper addresses the issue of reliability in Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in case of missing sensors measurements due to network or hardware problems. We propose to support the fault detection and classification modules, which are the two critical components of a monitoring system for IIoT, with a generative model. The latter is respons...

In this paper, we consider millimeter Wave (mmWave) technology to provide reliable wireless network service within factories where links may experience rapid and temporary fluctuations of the received signal power due to dynamic blockers, such as humans and robots, moving in the environment. We propose a novel beam recovery procedure that leverages...

In this paper, we consider millimeter Wave (mmWave) technology to provide reliable wireless network service within factories where links may experience rapid and temporary fluctuations of the received signal power due to dynamic blockers, such as humans and robots, moving in the environment. We propose a novel beam recovery procedure that leverages...

In this paper, we propose a global digital platform to avoid and combat epidemics by providing relevant real-time information to support selective lockdowns. It leverages the pervasiveness of wireless connectivity while being trustworthy and secure. The proposed system is conceptualized to be decentralized yet federated, based on ubiquitous public...

We demonstrate a distributed and a centralized 4G/5G compliant approach to minimize signaling and latency related to user mobility in cellular networks. This is crucial due to the densification of networks and the additional signaling introduced by the new 5G service-based architecture. By exploiting standardized protocols, our solutions dynamicall...

Neutral host SCPs represent a key element of the 5G vision of ultra-dense mobile networks. However, current business models mostly focus on multi-year agreements for large venues, such as stadiums and hotel chains. These business agreements are regulated through binding SLAs, which tend to be too cumbersome and costly for smaller-scale SCPs. As a r...

Neutral Host Small Cell Providers (SCP) represent a key element of the 5G vision of ultra-dense mobile networks. However, current business models mostly focus on multi-year agreements for large venues, such as stadiums and hotel chains. These business agreements are regulated through binding Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which tend to be too cum...

Neutral Host Small Cell Providers (SCP) represent a key element of the 5G vision of ultra-dense mobile networks. However, current business models mostly focus on multi-year agreements for large venues, such as stadiums and hotel chains. These business agreements are regulated through binding Service Level Agreements (SLAs), which tend to be too cum...

We present a novel way of considering in-network computing (INC), using ideas from statistical mechanics. We model the execution of a distributed computation with graphs called functional topologies, which allows us to provide a formal definition for degeneracy and redundancy in the context of INC. Degeneracy for INC is defined as the structural mu...

Large scale multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) or Massive MIMO is one of the pivotal technologies for future wireless networks. However, the performance of massive MIMO systems heavily relies on accurate channel estimation. While the acquisition of channel state information (CSI) in such systems requires an increasingly large amount of training...

Modern telecommunication networks represent a large-scale construction and deployment effort, with renovations occurring almost continuously over the course of decades. The resulting networks consist of numerous dimensions, each following its own trajectory of development, commingled into a complex ecosystem. Typical attributes used to characterize...

This letter investigates millimetre wave (mmWave) backhaul network flow as affected by the interplay between deployment/topology, hardware architectures of the nodes and the number of hops while taking into account minimum demand per a node. The objective is to maximise the network flow, for a given deployment, based here on the Madrid-grid model....

In this work an iterative solution to build a network lifetime-preserving sampling strategy for WSNs is presented. The paper describes the necessary steps to reconstruct a graph from application data. Once the graph structure is obtained, a sampling strategy aimed at finding the smallest number of concurrent sensors needed to reconstruct the data i...

To manage mobility, RAN nodes in both 4G and 5G are grouped into a hierarchy of geographical areas. We demonstrate a 4G/5G compliant Network Level Mobility Management Optimization solution based on User Equipment (UE) Mobility to minimize signaling (i.e., handover signaling, paging and tracking area updates) and handover latency by dynamically reco...

Dynamical systems are by no means strangers in wireless communications, but we sometimes tend to forget how rich their behavior can be and how useful general methods for dynamical systems can be. Our story will necessarily involve chaos, but not in the terms secure chaotic communications have introduced it: we will look for the chaos, complexity an...

We present a novel way of considering in-network computing (INC), using ideas from statistical physics. We define degeneracy for INC as the multiplicity of possible options available within the network to perform the same function with a given macroscopic property (e.g. delay). We present an efficient algorithm to determine all these alternatives....

Today’s telecommunication networks have become sources of enormous amounts of widely heterogeneous data. This information can be retrieved from network traffic traces, network alarms, signal quality indicators, users’ behavioral data, etc. Advanced mathematical tools are required to extract meaningful information from these data and take decisions...

Licensed shared access (LSA) is a spectrum sharing mechanism where bandwidth is shared between a primary network, called incumbent, and a secondary mobile network. In this paper, we address dynamic spectrum management mechanisms for LSA systems. We propose a fair spectrum management algorithm for distributing incumbent’s available spectrum among mo...

Licensed Shared Access (LSA) is a spectrum sharing mechanism where bandwidth is shared between a primary network, called incumbent, and a secondary mobile network. In this work, we address dynamic spectrum management mechanisms for LSA systems. We propose a fair spectrum management algorithm for distributing incumbent's available spectrum among mob...

Spectrum sharing is one of the promising solutions to meet the spectrum demand in 5G networks that results from the emerging services like machine to machine and vehicle to infrastructure communication. The idea is to allow a set of entities access the spectrum whenever and wherever it is unused by the licensed users. In the proposed framework, dif...

Spectrum sharing is one of the promising solutions to meet the spectrum demand in 5G networks that results from the emerging services like machine to machine and vehicle to infrastructure communication. The idea is to allow a set of entities access the spectrum whenever and wherever it is unused by the licensed users. In the proposed framework, dif...

Antenna selection in Massive MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) communication systems enables reduction of complexity, cost and power while keeping the channel capacity high and retaining the diversity, interference reduction, spatial multiplexity and array gains of Massive MIMO. We investigate the possibility of decentralised antenna selection...

Ultra-dense Internet of Things (IoT) mesh networks and machine-to-machine communications herald an enormous opportunity for new computing paradigms and are serving as a catalyst for profound change in the evolution of the Internet. The collective computation capability of these IoT devices is typically neglected in favor of cloud or edge processing...

Fractional Frequency Reuse techniques can be employed to address interference in mobile networks, improving throughput for edge users. There is a tradeoff between the coverage and overall throughput achievable, as interference avoidance techniques lead to a loss in a cell's overall throughput, with spectrum efficiency decreasing with the fencing of...

LTE networks represent the latest generation implementation of communications technologies for mobile users. As such, simulation tools are essential in the development of new radio resource management (RRM) techniques for LTE. In this paper, we evaluate the LTE module of the ns-3 simulator in a set of 3GPP reference scenarios for system level simul...

We propose a new paradigm for telecommunications, and develop a framework drawing on concepts from information (i.e., different metrics of complexity) and computational (i.e., agent based modeling) theory, adapted from complex system science. We proceed in a systematic fashion by dividing network complexity understanding and analysis into different...

The disruptive power of blockchain technologies represents a great opportunity to re-imagine standard practices of telecommunication networks and to identify critical areas that can benefit from brand new approaches. As a starting point for this debate, we look at the current limits of infrastructure sharing, and specifically at the Small-Cell-as-a...

Even though clustering algorithms in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) are a well investigate subject, the increasing interest in the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G technologies has precipitated the need of new ways to comprehend and overcome a new set of challenges. While studies mainly propose new algorithms and compare these algorithms based on a...

We propose a cost-optimal antenna vs. spectrum resource allocation strategy for mobile 5G MD-MIMO over Next-Generation PONs. Comparing wavelength overlay and shared wavelength approaches, split-PHY leads to solutions with higher mobile capacity than fronthaul.

In this work we propose a virtualized network architecture for an infrastructure provider that shares the physical resources of a Massive MIMO cell among several virtual network operators (VNOs) using spatial multiplexing. In this architecture the infrastructure provider allocates spatial streams to the VNOs, which enables each VNO to select its ow...

We present a Monte Carlo study of interference in real-world wireless networks using the Potts model. Our approach maps the Potts energy to discrete interference levels. These levels depend on the configurations of radio frequency allocation in the network. For the first time, we estimate the degeneracy of these interference levels using the Wang-L...

In order to understand the underlying mechanisms that lead to certain network properties (i.e. scalability, energy efficiency) we apply a complex systems science approach to analyze clustering in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN). We represent different implementations of clustering in WSNs with a functional topology graph. Different characteristics o...

The rapid evolution of network services demands new paradigms for studying and designing networks. In order to understand the underlying mechanisms that provide network functions, we propose a framework which enables the functional analysis of telecommunication networks. This framework allows us to isolate and analyse a network function as a comple...

We examine the dimensional limitations of Licensed Shared Access (LSA) regulatory framework for spectrum sharing and propose a solution for its more dynamic implementation. We consider an additional dimension for sharing, beyond those of time, space and frequency, i.e. the sharing of the infrastructure. We explain why we believe that the emerging r...

Flexible licensing model is a necessary enabler of the technical and procedural complexities of Spectrum Access System (SAS)-based sharing framework. The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness of 3.5GHz Licensing Framework - based on census tracts as area units, areas whose main characteristic is population. As such, the boundary of...

This paper addresses the channel selection problem for Long Term Evolution Unlicensed (LTE-U). Channel selection is a frequency-domain mechanism that facilitates the coexistence of multiple networks sharing the unlicensed band. In particular, the paper considers a fully distributed approach where each small cell autonomously selects the channel to...

Some of the new trends emerging in future wireless networks enable a vastly increased fluidity in accessing a wide range of resources, thus supporting flexible network composition and dynamic allocation of resources to virtual network operators (VNOs). In this work we study a new resource allocation opportunity that is enabled by the cloud radio ac...

The paper targets a future world where all wireless networks are self-organising entities and in which the predominant mode of spectrum access is dynamic. The paper explores whether the behaviour of a collection of autonomous self-organising wireless systems can be treated as a complex system and whether complex systems science can shed light on th...

This paper considers the implications of different infrastructure options on a spectrum sharing scenario in cellular networks, featuring a mixture of macro cells and low-power nodes (LPNs). Our aim is to provide a systematic approach to spectrum sharing. This requires dealing not only with various aspects of the spectrum but also understanding the...

This chapter introduces game theoretical and auction-based models for spectrum sharing. We apply the principles from game theory and auction theory to model, design, and analyze spectrum sharing mechanisms. In this chapter, we briefly introduce dynamic carrier aggregation as an emerging spectrum sharing scenario and model the interactions of utilit...

This paper proposes a two-stage process for assigning fungible orthogonal channel sets to multiple cognitive radios (CRs) for opportunistic spectrum access. Assigning orthogonal channel sets to the CRs eliminates the possibility of collision among them, and allows the CRs to focus on avoiding collisions with the primary user (PU). In particular, ea...

Telecommunication systems have evolved, from being simple monolithic structures to complex ones. The present paper is an attempt to recast telecom systems in the language of complex systems. As a specific application of complex systems science to telecom systems, we tackle the problem of self-organizing frequency allocation. For this purpose, we mo...

The focus of this paper is to provide a unique perspective on new network architectures supporting novel spectrum sharing mechanisms. A Cloud-based MD-MIMO RAN (Massive Distributed Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Radio Access Network) is proposed for exploitation of Licensed Shared Access (LSA) spectrum sharing concept. In order to deliver a particu...

This paper analyses performance aspects and initial methodology for a form of spectrum sharing for cellular operators, based on an enhanced form of Carrier Aggregation. Our motivation is to provide the appropriate framework and encourage systematic spectrum sharing, taking into account Quality of Service (QoS) requirements that the cellular operato...

This paper suggests that the regulatory tool known as the Block Edge Mask (BEM), which is used to define the technical conditions governing a spectrum license, can be used as an instrument to jointly drive spectrum and energy efficiency in a network. The paper explores this concept and goes on to show how networks can generate waveforms which compl...

The diverse behavior of different primary users (PU) in various spectrum bands impacts a cognitive radio’s ability to exploit spectrum holes. This chapter summarizes the results of our previous studies on the impact of the complexity of primary users’ behavior on the performance of learning algorithms applied to dynamic channel selection. In partic...

Carrier aggregation is a key feature of next generation wireless networks to deliver high-bandwidth links. This paper studies carrier aggregation for autonomous networks operating in shared spectrum. In our model, networks decide how many and which channels to aggregate in multiple frequency bands, hence extending the distributed channel allocation...

We explore the question of when learning improves the performance of opportunistic dynamic channel selection by characterizing the primary user (PU) activity using the concept of Lempel-Ziv complexity. We evaluate the effectiveness of a reinforcement learning algorithm by testing it with real spectrum occupancy data collected in the GSM, ISM, and D...

This paper proposes a framework for an enhanced form of Carrier Aggregation, with the focus on carrier selection mechanism that considers different types of shared spectrum resources for the aggregation. In addition to a spectrum class already owned by the operator, we envisage two additional shared spectrum classes, activated dynamically, accordin...

To improve their ability to find spectrum opportunities, intelligent secondary radios (SR) can learn from their past observations and predict possible spectrum opportunities. However, because of the diverse behavior of primary users (PU) in different spectrum bands, spectrum holes exhibit diverse characteristics, which in turn affect the performanc...

The concept of cancellation carriers (CCs) has been proposed in the literature for sidelobe suppression for orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) systems. Subcarriers at the edges of the OFDM spectrum are used for sidelobe reduction while the remaining subcarriers are used for data transmission. Existing CCs techniques require performin...

Cognitive radio networks challenge the traditional wireless networking paradigm by introducing concepts firmly stemmed into the Artificial Intelligence (AI) field, i.e., learning and reasoning. This fosters optimal resource usage and management allowing a plethora of potential applications such as secondary spectrum access, cognitive wireless backb...

This paper considers spatial spectrum sharing-based carrier aggregation (SSS-CA) from a game theoretic perspective. In SSS-CA, a network operator can not only transmit on its own licensed spectrum but it can also access and aggregate the licensed spectrum of other operators on payment of a certain price. The difference between operators and the agg...

All spectrum opportunities are not created equally. The diverse behavior of different primary users (PUs) in various spectrum bands affects a cognitive radio's ability to exploit spectrum holes. In a heavily used spectrum environment, the availability of unutilized, uncluttered, and easily accessible white space spectrum is unlikely. Rather, cognit...