A multi-device and multi-operator dataset from mobile network coverage on Android devices

This focus issue of Physiological Measurement follows the 38th Annual International Computing in Cardiology (CinC) Conference, hosted in Hangzhou, China in September 2011 by Zhejiang University. Each year, the NIH-sponsored PhysioNet resource (http://physionet.org/) runs an open competition lasting several months, aimed at encouraging the development of solutions to an unsolved or poorly solved problem in biomedicine, in most cases making use of relevant clinical and experimental data provided freely by PhysioNet. Participants in these annual challenges discuss their diverse approaches to the Challenge problems during dedicated scientific sessions at CinC. The topics of these PhysioNet/CinC Challenges range from physiologic signal processing and analysis to forecasting and modelling clinically important events and processes.

Cellular networking has entered the paradigm of next generation networking, Software Defined Mobile Networking (SDMN) and Cloud Radio Access Networks (CRAN). This paradigm shift has compelled to improve future cellular networks by making them more efficient and smart. The improved, future cellular networks could have a profound impact on the commercial and research segments in terms of capital expenditure and operational expenditure by presenting a unified robust technology for data connectivity. In future, 5G cellular networks will be progressed with LTE that will facilitate this technological transformation. Future 5G demands reliance on more flexible and dynamic technologies such as static Radio Access Networks (RAN), otherwise resources will be depleting and will be unable to meet the surging demands including wireless transmission connectivity and providing an efficient network bandwidth. To address this problem, the paper presents a study exploring the amalgamation of Software Defined Network (SDN) and cloud computing achieve Cloud RAN or RAN-as-a-Service (RANaaS). This helps to overcome the problems associated with handling enormous matrix of connecting devices and nodes. This paper explores existing research geared towards the deployment of 5G networks through Remote Radio Heads (RRH) and Virtual Base Stations (VBSs) backed by SDN. Furthermore, this research survey is an effort to unearth the security implications and challenges of CRAN while adopting LTE and SDMN services in CRAN based 5G networks. The security challenges of conventional wireless networks are framed to emphasize on the need to migrate from traditional RAN to CRAN. Subsequently the possible mitigation techniques are also discussed. Furthermore, the role of SDN and its security artifacts are also explored to embed security within the CRAN architecture.

The evolution of mobile networks towards the Fifth Generation (5G) introduces many concerns from the technical and economic points of view. Expected new applications exceed mobile networks’ current capabilities, and 4G networks will have to evolve into 5G networks to provide some with a proper service. With regard to the ambitious intended performance of 5G networks, a huge process is required which will need to be faced both technically and economically. The 5G “ready system” standard is scheduled for 2020. However, only a few studies have carried out techno-economic evaluation of 5G. This paper presents a techno-economic analysis to foresee some feasible technical architectures leading to suitable and affordable use cases. The paper presents a new approach based on different evolving technical scenarios, establishing combined 4G/5G technical solutions and a roadmap that could provide useful insights about the most suitable use cases by scenario. Moreover, it analyses these possible use cases to determine their feasibility by optimizing their deployment costs. The study is based on the standardization process, integration of different views of key industrial players and mathematical modelling to address the new applications that 5G will provide. Finally, conclusions are drawn from the analysis and a recommendation score is established, providing useful advice to support the strategic decisions of the different stakeholders, technologists and investors involved in deployment of 5G networks.

This review paper explores the pivotal role of telecommunications in enabling Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity and applications, providing a comprehensive overview of the current landscape and future prospects. The primary objective is to synthesize existing research and industry insights to highlight how advancements in telecommunications infrastructure and technology have catalyzed the adoption and expansion of IoT. The review systematically examines the evolution of telecommunications technologies, including 4G, 5G, and emerging network protocols such as Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and Long-Term Evolution for Machines (LTE-M). It assesses how these technologies enhance IoT connectivity by providing the necessary bandwidth, low latency, and reliability for real-time data exchange and device interoperability. Key findings from the literature reveal that the deployment of 5G networks has been a game-changer for IoT, offering unprecedented speeds and connectivity capabilities that support a wide range of applications in smart cities, healthcare, agriculture, and industrial automation. Additionally, the paper discusses the role of telecommunications in addressing challenges related to security, scalability, and energy efficiency in IoT deployments. The review concludes that telecommunications are integral to the growth and sustainability of IoT ecosystems. As telecommunications technology continues to advance, its ability to support increasingly complex and ubiquitous IoT applications will drive innovation and enhance efficiency across various sectors. The paper emphasizes the necessity for ongoing investment in telecommunications infrastructure and research to fully exploit the transformative potential of IoT connectivity and applications.

Taking a byte out of big data

Wrist photoplethysmogram (PPG) signals are widely used for physiological monitoring in consumer devices. However, the PPG is highly susceptible to noise, which can reduce the accuracy of monitored parameters. The aim of this study was to identify factors which influence PPG signal quality. Data from the Aurora-BP dataset were used, consisting of reflectance wrist PPG signals measured from 1,142 subjects of varying ages and health statuses. Measurements were acquired in supine, sitting, and standing postures, and with the sensor held at different heights. Three signal quality metrics were calculated: the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the perfusion index (PI), and the template-matching correlation coefficient (TMCC). When comparing between postures with the sensor held at a natural height, quality was greatest in the supine position (SNR: 18.6 dB), followed by sitting with the arm resting in the lap (13.7 dB), and lowest whilst standing with the arm hanging alongside (9.0 dB) (p < 0.001). Signal quality increased as the arm was raised to heart height: whilst sitting, quality was lowest with the arm alongside the body (10.5 dB), and increased when the sensor was held in the lap (13.7 dB) and at heart height (15.5 dB) (p < 0.001). Similar trends were observed for the TMCC and PI. Findings were mixed for the influence of participant characteristics on signal quality. The SNR and TMCC, but not the PI, increased with age. The SNR either decreased or remained constant at darker skin tones when controlling for PPG DC amplitude, compared to constant or increased when allowing DC amplitude to vary. In conclusion, this study identified the impacts of posture and sensor height on signal quality, with highest qualities observed in the supine posture and with the sensor at heart height. It also highlights the importance of adjusting LED light intensity to maintain signal quality across skin tones.

While designed for being energy efficient, the deployment of 5G networks will further increase Radio Access Networks (RANs) energy consumption with the twofold effect to raise sustainability issues and increase operational costs for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). However, the energy waste occurring during low traffic periods can be mitigated through Advanced Sleep Modes (ASMs) that make the BSs enter into progressively deeper and less consuming sleep modes. Deep sleep modes, unfortunately, have longer reactivation times, and may jeopardize service quality. In this paper, focusing on 5G latency requirements in low traffic periods, we propose a framework to dynamically adapt the ASM configuration settings to the actual traffic load so as to meet a desired constraint on the average BS reactivation delay.

The deployment of 5G networks is sometimes questioned due to the impact of ElectroMagnetic Field (EMF) generated by Radio Base Station (RBS) on users. The goal of this work is to analyze such issue from a novel perspective, by comparing RBS EMF against exposure generated by 5G smartphones in commercial deployments. The measurement of exposure from 5G is hampered by several implementation aspects, such as dual connectivity between 4G and 5G, spectrum fragmentation, and carrier aggregation. To face such issues, we deploy a novel framework, called <sc xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">5G-EA</small> , tailored to the assessment of smartphone and RBS exposure through an innovative measurement algorithm, able to remotely control a programmable spectrum analyzer. Results, obtained in both outdoor and indoor locations, reveal that smartphone exposure (upon generation of uplink traffic) dominates over the RBS one. Moreover, Line-of-Sight locations experience a reduction of around one order of magnitude on the overall exposure compared to Non-Line-of-Sight ones. In addition, 5G exposure always represents a small share (up to 38%) compared to the total one radiated by the smartphone.

The present paper studies 5G challenges, requirements and key differentiating characteristics from the perspective of a Romanian mobile operator. The main contribution is that we created a vision about the use cases, physical and logical architecture needed to support these uses cases and other key differentiated factors, that the deployment of a future 5G network will bring in a mobile network. This global vision was made after studying and analyzing the results and publication of the most important research and industry projects on 5G, realized until now. Our main goal is to be prepared in 2020 to develop a commercial 5G network and this analysis was made to observe the main changes and the new requirements that this implementation will bring in our current mobile network.

The fourth generation of mobile networks (4G) must overcome the new challenges that have emerged with the explosive growth in demand for mobile traffic and the Internet of Things. Therefore, the OMNs (Operator Mobile Networks) should plan for upgrading 4G to 5G mobile network beyond 2020, which is the expected year for launching 5G. A techno-economic analysis and mathematic modeling approach was considered. Also, a new pricing model is proposed to be consistent with the growth of mobile broadband. The two major cost elements, Capital Expenditure and Operative Expenditure were compared with the revenue expected to be collected within the deployment period. The results show that 5G is very beneficial, not only because of its lower cost compared with 4G LTE, but also due to the increment of average data consumptions offered by 5G mobile technologies and the increasing growth of number of users. We also found that good analysis of Price Elasticity of Volume gives an important margin of benefit. We confirm that the reuse of existing sites have a large impact on reducing costs when a denser macro network deployed. However, we encountered a lack of the limited capacity related to the macro sites and coverage limited with small cell solutions like femtocells, picocells deployed with 5G mmW system and Wi-Fi.

Currently, the deployment of 5G networks is advancing in order to meet the high communication demands of society. This, along with the massive growth of wireless IoT devices, will cause potential issues related to the interferences between communication systems and the communication of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) due to deployments in inhomogeneous environments. These environments can be indoor, such as homes, university campuses, auditoriums, hospitals, sports venues, and factories, as well as outdoor, such as cities and forests. Consequently, it is essential to model, characterize, and validate these environments for optimal deployment of WSNs, maximizing coverage while minimizing losses and interference. In order to achieve this, a deterministic simulation tool called 3D-Ray Launching (3D-RL) has been internally developed and utilized for radio planning tasks and channel modeling. Additionally, the impact of the presence of human beings has been considered in terms of the Quality of Services (QoS) of communication links. Modeling has been conducted in both frequency and time domains, enabling adequate characterization of multipath propagation, which is the most relevant phenomenon in these environments. This has facilitated deploying multiple wireless communication systems ranging from Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN) to Wide Wireless Area Networks (WWAN) in these context-aware environments. This has led to the development of various test applications for monitoring basketball team training sessions or the round of golf players, localization of the load within a logistics plant, and patient monitoring in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Finally, radiating structures have been designed, implemented, and tested using innovative ink deposition techniques on flexible and sustainable substrates capable of operating within IoT systems and environments analyzed for the packaging sector.

The rapid development of global wireless networks has promoted the innovation of 5G network application scenarios and the improvement of infrastructure. The deployment of 5G network in high-speed railway network system has important practical application prospects. Data security and user experience are significant factors to consider for 5G high-speed rail network. However, existing 5G network handover authentication mechanisms still have challenging issues in terms of security and efficiency. Considering the complexity and diversity of the future 5G high-speed rail network, this paper proposes a secure and efficient group pre-handover authentication scheme based on Mobile Relay Node (MRN). MRN with trusted execution environment assists 5G User Equipment (UE) on high-speed rail to complete the handover process before reaching the next 5G base station in the authentication and handover execution phase, so as to improve the security and handover efficiency of UE in the authentication and handover process. Therefore, this scheme can reduce handover delay and realize fast and secure group handover of high-speed UEs under the dense-deployed 5G base station. After comprehensive performance evaluation, security and communication efficiency are superior to other schemes.Keywords5GAuthenticationGroup handoverTrusted execution environmentMobile relay node

Although the deployment of 5G networks has already started, there are still open questions regarding propagation at millimeter-wave frequency bands. Several propagation campaigns have been carried out at several bands previously identified by regulatory organizations, but due to the wide range of allocated segments of spectrum and the variety of possible propagation scenarios, more measurement campaigns are needed. In this regard, the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) has taken millimeter-wave measurements at 26, 32, and 39 GHz bands in an indoor corridor scenario in line-of-sight (LOS) conditions with two antenna configurations (a horn antenna has been used in transmission whereas horn and omnidirectional antennas have been used in reception), and the main results are presented in this paper. The obtained path loss results have been compared with existing millimeter-wave propagation models.

The core Immersive Media (IM) technologies of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) have steadily advanced over the last thirty years, enabling high fidelity experiences at consumer prices. Over the same period, networking speeds have increased dramatically, culminating in the deployment of 5G networks. Combined, these advancements greatly increase the prospects for widespread adoption of virtual and augmented worlds. Recently branded “the metaverse” by Meta and other large platforms, major corporations are currently investing billions to deploy immersive worlds that target mainstream activities from socializing and shopping to education and business. With the prospect that corporate-controlled metaverse environments proliferate society over the next decade, it is important to consider the risks to consumers and plan for meaningful regulation. This is especially true in light of the unexpected negative impact that social media platforms have had on society in recent years. The dangers of the metaverse are outlined herein along with proposals for sensible regulation.

Major LTE hardware vendors (e.g. Qualcomm, Ericsson), mobile service providers (e.g. Verizon, T-Mobile), and standardization bodies (e.g. LTE-U forum, 3GPP) are extending LTE networks into unlicensed spectrum bands to boost the speeds and coverage of mobile networks. However, the deployment of LTE in unlicensed has raised serious concerns regarding their adverse impact on Wi-Fi networks in the same bands. We design LTERadar, a lightweight interference detector, that runs on Wi-Fi devices and accurately detects LTE interference in real time. LTERadar is a purely software-based solution that is independent of specific hardware or technology of the LTE interferer (e.g. LTE-U, LAA, the dominant LTE unlicensed protocols). Our implementation and evaluation with off-the-shelf Wi-Fi APs show that LTERadar achieves more than 90% of the interference detection accuracy in operational networks.