Final Report Summary - LTE BE-IT (Investigation of LTE-Advanced for Network Behaviour, Energy and Intelligent Transportation Systems) Today, cellular communications are pervasive. To cope with the needs of data-hungry applications and users, 4G LTE (Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution) has been developed to provide users with faster data speeds. However, much work still needs to be done for 4G to reach its full potential. Thus, the overall objective of this project is to advance 4G-based wireless mobile network communications utilizing a multidisciplinary research approach. As a member of the Mobile Telecommunication (MT) group at Linköping University (LiU), Sweden, the Marie Curie CIG fellow has accomplished the following tasks described in the Work Packages (WPs) to achieve the overall objective. The specific aim of WP1 is to evaluate LTE network by conducting real traffic measurements. Utilizing this detailed analysis of network measurements, the project has identified potential performance bottlenecks of LTE. By addressing the performance problems, the research has contributed to moving forward the development beyond the state of the art since the knowledge can be utilized for new versions of protocols to enable better (faster) performance for the end users. The specific aim of WP2 is to develop an energy-efficient mechanism for LTE. For accommodating the very high rates and wide bandwidths in LTE, substantial improvements in energy-efficient operation mechanisms are necessary. To achieve maximal power-saving effects, various types of sleep cycles utilizing Discontinuous Reception (DRX) power-saving mechanisms have been investigated in the project. Using analytical modeling, the work has successfully showed the trade-off relationship between the power saving and wake-up delay performance. The knowledge will help selecting the best parameters for LTE DRX implementation, and thereby advancing the state of the art in the field of energy-efficient green networking. WP3 aims at utilizing LTE network communication in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). Vehicle-to-infrastructure and vehicle-to-vehicle communication (V2X) have acquired considerable attention because they hold the potential to improve road safety, decrease vehicle energy usage (e.g. fuel) and to reduce accidents. Since cellular communication is readily available and telecommunication traffic ranging from entertainment (e.g. online games, real-time movies) to vehicular safety (e.g. information about vehicle accidents, congestion etc.) in ITS, LTE communication consider important for V2X. The challenge is that the protocols in LTE should not only provide good packet delivery but also be able to adapt to changes in the network topology due to vehicle volume and vehicular mobility. This requires investigating the amount of available resources that can be accessed. The project work has been useful for showing the best parameters for LTE so as to achieve an efficient network operation based on the quality indicators for ITS. A short description, and scientific papers and contributions are available at the following URL: http://webstaff.itn.liu.se/~scofo47/WebPage%20LTE-BE-IT/The CIG grant has allowed the CIG fellow to gain expertise and research experience in wireless network communications while advancing the career in academia and being integrated into the host environment. Thus, the CIG grant provided the opportunity for the fellow to build up a strong foundation at the very beginning stage of the career as an independent researcher. The fellow has developed skills in taking initiatives and leadership, by planning activities and supervises master students independently. Based on the results from the CIG research, the CIG fellow will continue establishing as an expert of wireless mobile network communications, expanding research network for potential future collaborations within and outside of Europe, training students and acquiring potential industrial partners. This will be done by applying for grants based on the results from the CIG grant. Another benefit to the career of the fellow is the development of several collaborations within and outside of the institution including international partners (e.g. Xi'an Jiaotong University, China, University of Beira Interior, Portugal, University of Murcia, Spain, University of Paris-Est, France and MobiMESH Company). Moreover, the fellow is in the progress of reaching the Docent (habilitation) title, in order to independently supervise PhD students. The fellow is nominated for Senior IEEE Membership, making the fellow recognized by his international colleagues for experience and professional maturity. These building blocks enabled by the CIG grant have significantly enriched the CIG fellow’s research knowledge and career development.
