Next-generation cellular networks will evolve into more complex and virtualized systems, employing machine learning for enhanced optimization and leveraging higher frequency bands and denser deployments to meet varied service demands. This evolution, while bringing numerous advantages, will also pose challenges, especially in mobility management, as it will increase the overall number of handovers due to smaller coverage areas and the higher signal attenuation. To address these challenges, we propose a deep learning based algorithm for predicting the future serving cell utilizing sequential user equipment measurements to minimize the handover failures and interruption time. Our algorithm enables network operators to dynamically adjust handover triggering events or incorporate UAV base stations for enhanced coverage and capacity, optimizing network objectives like load balancing and energy efficiency through transfer learning techniques. Our framework complies with the O-RAN specifications and can be deployed in a Near-Real-Time RAN Intelligent Controller as an xApp leveraging the E2SM-KPM service model. The evaluation results demonstrate that our algorithm achieves a 92% accuracy in predicting future serving cells with high probability. Finally, by utilizing transfer learning, our algorithm significantly reduces the retraining time by 91% and 77% when new handover trigger decisions or UAV base stations are introduced to the network dynamically.

In the near future, mobile networks are expected to broaden their services and coverage to accommodate a larger user base and diverse user needs. Thus, they will increasingly rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to manage network operation and control costs, undertaking complex decision-making roles. This shift will necessitate the application of techniques that incorporate critical thinking abilities, including reasoning and planning. Symbolic AI techniques already facilitate critical thinking based on existing knowledge. Yet, their use in telecommunications is hindered by the high cost of mostly manual curation of this knowledge and high computational complexity of reasoning tasks. At the same time, there is a spurt of innovations in industries such as telecommunications due to Generative AI (GenAI) technologies, operating independently of human-curated knowledge. However, their capacity for critical thinking remains uncertain. This paper aims to address this gap by examining the current status of GenAI algorithms with critical thinking capabilities and investigating their potential applications in telecom networks. Specifically, the aim of this study is to offer an introduction to the potential utilization of GenAI for critical thinking techniques in mobile networks, while also establishing a foundation for future research.

Existing studies on federated learning (FL) are mostly focused on system orchestration for static snapshots of the network and making static control decisions (e.g., spectrum allocation). However, real-world wireless networks are susceptible to temporal variations of wireless channel capacity and users' datasets. In this paper, we incorporate multi-granular system dynamics (MSDs) into FL, including (M1) dynamic wireless channel capacity, captured by a set of discrete-time events, called $\mathscr{D}$-Events, and (M2) dynamic datasets of users. The latter is characterized by (M2-a) modeling the dynamics of user's dataset size via an ordinary differential equation and (M2-b) introducing dynamic model drift}, formulated via a partial differential inequality} drawing concrete analytical connections between the dynamics of users' datasets and FL accuracy. We then conduct FL orchestration under MSDs by introducing dynamic cooperative FL with dedicated MAC schedulers (DCLM), exploiting the unique features of open radio access network (O-RAN). DCLM proposes (i) a hierarchical device-to-device (D2D)-assisted model training, (ii) dynamic control decisions through dedicated O-RAN MAC schedulers, and (iii) asymmetric user selection. We provide extensive theoretical analysis to study the convergence of DCLM. We then optimize the degrees of freedom (e.g., user selection and spectrum allocation) in DCLM through a highly non-convex optimization problem. We develop a systematic approach to obtain the solution for this problem, opening the door to solving a broad variety of network-aware FL optimization problems. We show the efficiency of DCLM via numerical simulations and provide a series of future directions.

Data are the critical fuel for Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. Poor quality data produces inaccurate and ineffective AI models that may lead to incorrect or unsafe use. Checking for data readiness is a crucial step in improving data quality. Numerous R&D efforts have been spent on improving data quality. However, standardized metrics for evaluating data readiness for use in AI training are still evolving. In this study, we perform a comprehensive survey of metrics used for verifying AI's data readiness. This survey examines more than 120 papers that are published by ACM Digital Library, IEEE Xplore, other reputable journals, and articles published on the web by prominent AI experts. This survey aims to propose a taxonomy of data readiness for AI (DRAI) metrics for structured and unstructured datasets. We anticipate that this taxonomy can lead to new standards for DRAI metrics that would be used for enhancing the quality and accuracy of AI training and inference.

Adapting to concept drift is a challenging task in machine learning, which is usually tackled using incremental learning techniques that periodically re-fit a learning model leveraging newly available data. A primary limitation of these techniques is their reliance on substantial amounts of data for retraining. The necessity of acquiring fresh data introduces temporal delays prior to retraining, potentially rendering the models inaccurate if a sudden concept drift occurs in-between two consecutive retrainings. In communication networks, such issue emerges when performing traffic forecasting following a~failure event: post-failure re-routing may induce a drastic shift in distribution and pattern of traffic data, thus requiring a timely model adaptation. In this work, we address this challenge for the problem of traffic forecasting and propose an approach that exploits adaptive learning algorithms, namely, liquid neural networks, which are capable of self-adaptation to abrupt changes in data patterns without requiring any retraining. Through extensive simulations of failure scenarios, we compare the predictive performance of our proposed approach to that of a reference method based on incremental learning. Experimental results show that our proposed approach outperforms incremental learning-based methods in situations where the shifts in traffic patterns are drastic.

Space Communication poses challenges such as severe delays, hard-to-predict routes and communication disruptions. The Delay Tolerant Network architecture, having been specifically designed keeping such scenarios in mind, is suitable to address some challenges. The traditional DTN routing protocols fall short of delivering optimal performance, due to the inherent complexities of space communication. Researchers have aimed at using recent advancements in AI to mitigate some routing challenges [9]. We propose utilising a feedforward neural network to develop a novel protocol NeuraLunaDTNet, which enhances the efficiency of the PRoPHET routing protocol for lunar communication, by learning contact plans in dynamically changing spatio-temporal graph.

The realization of data-driven AI-native architecture envisioned for 6G and beyond networks can eventually lead to multiple machine learning (ML) workloads distributed at the network edges driving downstream tasks like secondary carrier prediction, positioning, channel prediction etc. The independent life-cycle management of these edge-distributed independent multiple workloads sharing a resource-constrained compute node e.g., base station (BS) is a challenge that will scale with denser deployments. This study explores the effectiveness of multi-task learning (MTL) approaches in facilitating a general-purpose AI native Radio Access Network (RAN). The investigation focuses on four RAN tasks: (i) secondary carrier prediction, (ii) user location prediction, (iii) indoor link classification, and (iv) line-of-sight link classification. We validate the performance using realistic simulations considering multi-faceted design aspects of MTL including model architecture, loss and gradient balancing strategies, distributed learning topology, data sparsity and task groupings. The quantification and insights from simulations reveal that for the four RAN tasks considered (i) adoption of customized gate control-based expert architecture with uncertainty-based weighting makes MTL perform either best among all or at par with single task learning (STL) (ii) LoS classification task in MTL setting helps other tasks but its own performance is degraded (iii) for sparse training data, training a single global MTL model is helpful but MTL performance is on par with STL (iv) optimal set of group pairing exists for each task and (v) partial federation is much better than full model federation in MTL setting.

In this paper, we synthesize a data-driven method to predict the optimal topology of an ad-hoc robot network. This problem is technically a multi-task classification problem. However, we divide it into a class of multi-class classification problems that can be more efficiently solved. For this purpose, we first compose an algorithm to create ground-truth optimal topologies associated with various configurations of a robot network. This algorithm incorporates a complex collection of optimality criteria that our learning model successfully manages to learn. This model is an stacked ensemble whose output is the topology prediction for a particular robot. Each stacked ensemble instance constitutes three low-level estimators whose outputs will be aggregated by a high-level boosting blender. Applying our model to a network of 10 robots displays over 80% accuracy in the prediction of optimal topologies corresponding to various configurations of the cited network.

Federated learning (FL) offers a privacy-preserving collaborative approach for training models in wireless networks, with channel estimation emerging as a promising application. Despite extensive studies on FL-empowered channel estimation, the security concerns associated with FL require meticulous attention. In a scenario where small base stations (SBSs) serve as local models trained on cached data, and a macro base station (MBS) functions as the global model setting, an attacker can exploit the vulnerability of FL, launching attacks with various adversarial attacks or deployment tactics. In this paper, we analyze such vulnerabilities, corresponding solutions were brought forth, and validated through simulation.

Traffic dynamics is universally crucial in analyzing and designing almost any network. This article introduces a novel theoretical approach to analyzing network traffic dynamics. This theory's machinery is based on the notion of traffic divergence, which captures the flow (im)balance of network nodes and links. It features various analytical probes to investigate both spatial and temporal traffic dynamics. In particular, the maximal traffic distribution in a network can be characterized by spatial traffic divergence rate, which reveals the relative difference among node traffic divergence. To illustrate the usefulness, we apply the theory to two network-driven problems: throughput estimation of data center networks and power-optimized communication planning for robot networks, and show the merits of the proposed theory through simulations.