Telecommunications
Decentralized Multi-Party Multi-Network AI for Global Deployment of 6G Wireless Systems
Dzaferagic, Merim, Ruffini, Marco, Slamnik-Krijestorac, Nina, Santos, Joao F., Marquez-Barja, Johann, Tranoris, Christos, Denazis, Spyros, Kyriakakis, Thomas, Karafotis, Panagiotis, DaSilva, Luiz, Pandey, Shashi Raj, Shiraishi, Junya, Popovski, Petar, Jensen, Soren Kejser, Thomsen, Christian, Pedersen, Torben Bach, Claussen, Holger, Du, Jinfeng, Zussman, Gil, Chen, Tingjun, Chen, Yiran, Tirupathi, Seshu, Seskar, Ivan, Kilper, Daniel
Multiple visions of 6G networks elicit Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a central, native element. When 6G systems are deployed at a large scale, end-to-end AI-based solutions will necessarily have to encompass both the radio and the fiber-optical domain. This paper introduces the Decentralized Multi-Party, Multi-Network AI (DMMAI) framework for integrating AI into 6G networks deployed at scale. DMMAI harmonizes AI-driven controls across diverse network platforms and thus facilitates networks that autonomously configure, monitor, and repair themselves. This is particularly crucial at the network edge, where advanced applications meet heightened functionality and security demands. The radio/optical integration is vital due to the current compartmentalization of AI research within these domains, which lacks a comprehensive understanding of their interaction. Our approach explores multi-network orchestration and AI control integration, filling a critical gap in standardized frameworks for AI-driven coordination in 6G networks. The DMMAI framework is a step towards a global standard for AI in 6G, aiming to establish reference use cases, data and model management methods, and benchmarking platforms for future AI/ML solutions.
ML-based handover prediction over a real O-RAN deployment using RAN Intelligent controller
Dzaferagic, Merim, Xavier, Bruno Missi, Collins, Diarmuid, D'Onofrio, Vince, Martinello, Magnos, Ruffini, Marco
O-RAN introduces intelligent and flexible network control in all parts of the network. The use of controllers with open interfaces allow us to gather real time network measurements and make intelligent/informed decision. The work in this paper focuses on developing a use-case for open and reconfigurable networks to investigate the possibility to predict handover events and understand the value of such predictions for all stakeholders that rely on the communication network to conduct their business. We propose a Long-Short Term Memory Machine Learning approach that takes standard Radio Access Network measurements to predict handover events. The models were trained on real network data collected from a commercial O-RAN setup deployed in our OpenIreland testbed. Our results show that the proposed approach can be optimized for either recall or precision, depending on the defined application level objective. We also link the performance of the Machine Learning (ML) algorithm to the network operation cost. Our results show that ML-based matching between the required and available resources can reduce operational cost by more than 80%, compared to long term resource purchases.
Test Code Generation for Telecom Software Systems using Two-Stage Generative Model
Nabeel, Mohamad, Nimara, Doumitrou Daniil, Zanouda, Tahar
In recent years, the evolution of Telecom towards achieving intelligent, autonomous, and open networks has led to an increasingly complex Telecom Software system, supporting various heterogeneous deployment scenarios, with multi-standard and multi-vendor support. As a result, it becomes a challenge for large-scale Telecom software companies to develop and test software for all deployment scenarios. To address these challenges, we propose a framework for Automated Test Generation for large-scale Telecom Software systems. We begin by generating Test Case Input data for test scenarios observed using a time-series Generative model trained on historical Telecom Network data during field trials. Additionally, the time-series Generative model helps in preserving the privacy of Telecom data. The generated time-series software performance data are then utilized with test descriptions written in natural language to generate Test Script using the Generative Large Language Model. Our comprehensive experiments on public datasets and Telecom datasets obtained from operational Telecom Networks demonstrate that the framework can effectively generate comprehensive test case data input and useful test code.
RF-Diffusion: Radio Signal Generation via Time-Frequency Diffusion
Chi, Guoxuan, Yang, Zheng, Wu, Chenshu, Xu, Jingao, Gao, Yuchong, Liu, Yunhao, Han, Tony Xiao
Along with AIGC shines in CV and NLP, its potential in the wireless domain has also emerged in recent years. Yet, existing RF-oriented generative solutions are ill-suited for generating high-quality, time-series RF data due to limited representation capabilities. In this work, inspired by the stellar achievements of the diffusion model in CV and NLP, we adapt it to the RF domain and propose RF-Diffusion. To accommodate the unique characteristics of RF signals, we first introduce a novel Time-Frequency Diffusion theory to enhance the original diffusion model, enabling it to tap into the information within the time, frequency, and complex-valued domains of RF signals. On this basis, we propose a Hierarchical Diffusion Transformer to translate the theory into a practical generative DNN through elaborated design spanning network architecture, functional block, and complex-valued operator, making RF-Diffusion a versatile solution to generate diverse, high-quality, and time-series RF data. Performance comparison with three prevalent generative models demonstrates the RF-Diffusion's superior performance in synthesizing Wi-Fi and FMCW signals. We also showcase the versatility of RF-Diffusion in boosting Wi-Fi sensing systems and performing channel estimation in 5G networks.
Fault Detection in Mobile Networks Using Diffusion Models
Nabeel, Mohamad, Nimara, Doumitrou Daniil, Zanouda, Tahar
In today's hyper-connected world, ensuring the reliability of telecom networks becomes increasingly crucial. Telecom networks encompass numerous underlying and intertwined software and hardware components, each providing different functionalities. To ensure the stability of telecom networks, telecom software, and hardware vendors developed several methods to detect any aberrant behavior in telecom networks and enable instant feedback and alerts. These approaches, although powerful, struggle to generalize due to the unsteady nature of the software-intensive embedded system and the complexity and diversity of multi-standard mobile networks. In this paper, we present a system to detect anomalies in telecom networks using a generative AI model. We evaluate several strategies using diffusion models to train the model for anomaly detection using multivariate time-series data. The contributions of this paper are threefold: (i) A proposal of a framework for utilizing diffusion models for time-series anomaly detection in telecom networks, (ii) A proposal of a particular Diffusion model architecture that outperforms other state-of-the-art techniques, (iii) Experiments on a real-world dataset to demonstrate that our model effectively provides explainable results, exposing some of its limitations and suggesting future research avenues to enhance its capabilities further.
ProSAS: An O-RAN Approach to Spectrum Sharing between NR and LTE
Gopal, Sneihil, Griffith, David, Rouil, Richard A., Liu, Chunmei
To ensure a smooth transition from LTE to NR networks while supporting legacy devices and maintaining network The Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), an industrydriven performance, 3GPP has proposed a comprehensive set of initiative, utilizes intelligent Radio Access Network solutions [3]. These include LTE-compatible NR numerology (RAN) controllers and open interfaces to facilitate efficient with a 15 kHz subcarrier spacing for unified time/frequency spectrum sharing between LTE and NR RANs. Also, solutions include resource reservation, we introduce the Proactive Spectrum Adaptation Scheme and downlink (DL) subcarrier puncturing to support enhanced (ProSAS), a data-driven, O-RAN-compatible spectrum sharing Machine-Type Communication (eMTC) (Technical Report solution. ProSAS is an intelligent radio resource demand (TR) 37.823), and mechanisms for resource allocation within prediction and management scheme for intent-driven spectrum NR carriers for Narrowband-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) (TR management that minimizes surplus or deficit experienced by 37.824). Lastly, to help mitigate and manage interference for both RANs.
ALICE: Combining Feature Selection and Inter-Rater Agreeability for Machine Learning Insights
Anasashvili, Bachana, Jeleskovic, Vahidin
The use of Machine Learning models for decision-making has become the new norm not only in tech but any business field imaginable, covering any possible task at hand be it search engine recommendations, customer churn prediction, credit risk scoring, energy load forecasting, or the deployment of personalized AI assistants. This comes at a time when developing ML models has become increasingly easier with the rise of open-source, free and user-friendly Python libraries such as Keras, scikit-learn, PyTorch and as generative AI-based conversational chatbots such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude that can provide coding assistance -- if not ready-made code for modeling -- are evolving rapidly. Such developments yet again beg the question of interpretability in machine learning, which has been formulated in various ways in literature and been offered multiple proposed solutions such as exploring causality (see Section 2.1), explainability (see Section 2.2) or abandoning black box ML models altogether. But to make a philosophical argument, it is hard to see the benefits of highly model or domain-specific, post-hoc, or complex solutions to obtain insights into the inner-doings of machine learning models when the modeling task itself is growing ever more accessible to laypeople. Common thought on categorizing ML models in this regard would argue that parametric models descending from the fields of statistics and econometrics such as Linear or Logistic Regression are by nature more interpretable than their data-driven and non-parametric counterparts such as tree-based models or neural networks.
Using Large Language Models to Understand Telecom Standards
Karapantelakis, Athanasios, Thakur, Mukesh, Nikou, Alexandros, Moradi, Farnaz, Orlog, Christian, Gaim, Fitsum, Holm, Henrik, Nimara, Doumitrou Daniil, Huang, Vincent
The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has successfully introduced standards for global mobility. However, the volume and complexity of these standards has increased over time, thus complicating access to relevant information for vendors and service providers. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and in particular Large Language Models (LLMs), may provide faster access to relevant information. In this paper, we evaluate the capability of state-of-art LLMs to be used as Question Answering (QA) assistants for 3GPP document reference. Our contribution is threefold. First, we provide a benchmark and measuring methods for evaluating performance of LLMs. Second, we do data preprocessing and fine-tuning for one of these LLMs and provide guidelines to increase accuracy of the responses that apply to all LLMs. Third, we provide a model of our own, TeleRoBERTa, that performs on-par with foundation LLMs but with an order of magnitude less number of parameters. Results show that LLMs can be used as a credible reference tool on telecom technical documents, and thus have potential for a number of different applications from troubleshooting and maintenance, to network operations and software product development.
Generative AI Agent for Next-Generation MIMO Design: Fundamentals, Challenges, and Vision
Wang, Zhe, Zhang, Jiayi, Du, Hongyang, Zhang, Ruichen, Niyato, Dusit, Ai, Bo, Letaief, Khaled B.
Next-generation multiple input multiple output (MIMO) is expected to be intelligent and scalable. In this paper, we study generative artificial intelligence (AI) agent-enabled next-generation MIMO design. Firstly, we provide an overview of the development, fundamentals, and challenges of the next-generation MIMO. Then, we propose the concept of the generative AI agent, which is capable of generating tailored and specialized contents with the aid of large language model (LLM) and retrieval augmented generation (RAG). Next, we comprehensively discuss the features and advantages of the generative AI agent framework. More importantly, to tackle existing challenges of next-generation MIMO, we discuss generative AI agent-enabled next-generation MIMO design, from the perspective of performance analysis, signal processing, and resource allocation. Furthermore, we present two compelling case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of leveraging the generative AI agent for performance analysis in complex configuration scenarios. These examples highlight how the integration of generative AI agents can significantly enhance the analysis and design of next-generation MIMO systems. Finally, we discuss important potential research future directions.
Multi-Step Traffic Prediction for Multi-Period Planning in Optical Networks
Maryam, Hafsa, Panayiotou, Tania, Ellinas, Georgios
A multi-period planning framework is proposed that exploits multi-step ahead traffic predictions to address service overprovisioning and improve adaptability to traffic changes, while ensuring the necessary quality-of-service (QoS) levels. An encoder-decoder deep learning model is initially leveraged for multi-step ahead prediction by analyzing real-traffic traces. This information is then exploited by multi-period planning heuristics to efficiently utilize available network resources while minimizing undesired service disruptions (caused due to lightpath re-allocations), with these heuristics outperforming a single-step ahead prediction approach. Network capacity demand is rapidly increasing, due to the emergence of new services and applications. To cope with this growing demand, the use of machine learning (ML) techniques for traffic-driven service provisioning has emerged as a promising solution to effectively model real-world traffic traces [1] and deal with overprovisioning that is present in staticallyprovisioned elastic optical networks (EONs) [2].