China Mobile Research Articles

Real-Time 3-D MIMO Antenna Tuning With Deep Reinforcement Learning

The 3D MIMO in 5G system requires adaptive and real-time adjustment of antenna azimuth angle, downtilt and beam combination according to the user distribution, which is a powerful technique to improve coverage and capacity. However, due to the complicated interactions between cells and complex environments, it is challengeable to jointly tune the antenna of multiple cells. Besides, the user distribution is complicated because of huge number of users and variable user locations. In this paper, a practical real-time 3D MIMO antenna tuning method with deep reinforcement learning (DRL) is proposed to jointly adjust the antenna configuration according to time-varying user distributions to improve the coverage and access performance of the system. Specifically, a deep neural network is trained to configure the antenna parameters and the Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) is used to adapt various user distributions. The proposed method has been verified on a 5G simulation environment with real geographical features from the real network of China Mobile. Simulation results indicate that the proposed method can improve the coverage and access performance compared with the typical schemes used in practical networks.

Research on network cloud equipment anomaly and root cause analysis

With the development of 5G communication technology, a cloud computing system has become a trend. However, with the expansion of the scale of deployment and the increase in framework complexity, ensuring the security and stability of cloud-based systems has become a serious challenge. In a real business environment, existing algorithms are powerless in the face of current problems, such as complex types of abnormal logs, inaccurate time information, and the lack of key information. This paper proposes network cloud equipment anomaly detection and a root cause analysis scheme based on large-scale logs in distributed cluster systems. The scheme uses unsupervised integrated learning, keyword search, and root cause generalization to analyze logs, accurately find anomalies and locate root causes. The F1 score in log anomaly detection is 0.962, and the accuracy in root cause location of anomalies is 0.849. In the ITU AI/ML in 5G Challenge 2021, the solution got the highest final score 93.904 in the China Mobile problem statement of network cloud equipment anomaly and root cause analysis. Furthermore, the scheme has been deployed on China Mobile's 5G network management system and achieves the detection and location of anomalies under intelligent operation.

A compact planar dual band two‐port MIMO antenna with high isolation and efficiency

A dual-band two-port MIMO antenna with high isolation and efficiency is proposed in this article. Each antenna element is composed of a rotated U-shaped strip and an L-shaped strip. The MIMO antenna is optimized to operate in 2.5–2.7 GHz and 4.8–5 GHz, which can cover the 5G bands of China Mobile. The defected ground structure consists of a slant square loop with a T-shaped slit and a U-shaped slot. A rectangle parasitic strip is placed in the U-shaped slot. The use of defected ground structure and parasitic strip makes the antenna obtain good isolation which is better than −17.96 dB and − 20.1 dB at the lower and higher frequency bands. To evaluate the antenna diversity, envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) is analyzed which is lower than 0.0006 and 0.12 at the lower and higher frequency bands, respectively. The measured gains are 4.35 dBi and 4.6 dBi, while the measured efficiencies are 63.23% and 68.69% at 2.6 GHz and 4.9 GHz, respectively. The prototype of antenna is fabricated to verify the functioning of proposed antenna design.

Scenario analysis of hydrofluorocarbons emission reduction in China's mobile air-conditioning sector

With the Kigali Amendment (KA) coming into effect in China, the control of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) emissions has become more imperative. The mobile air-conditioning (MAC) sector is one of the important HFCs consumer sectors, and therefore studying its feasible mitigation paths and costs is of great significance to China's successful implementation of KA. This study used the bottom-up method with updated emission factors to re-evaluate the emission inventory of HFCs from the MAC sector in China from 2005 to 2020. The average annual growth rate of HFCs consumption in the MAC sector is 9.8%, and HFCs emissions have increased from 5.8 (5.3–6.2) kt in 2005 to 22.2 (20.6–23.8) kt in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 8.8%. Using the Gompertz model combined with the Weibull function of vehicle survival rate, the ownership and new registrations of internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) in China are predicted. The ownership of ICEVs and EVs is projected to be 310 million and 91 million in 2030, respectively and 2 million and 641 million in 2060, respectively. HFCs emissions in the MAC sector would reach 59.8 (55.3–64.3) kt (80.0–93.0 Mt CO2-eq) in 2060 if without any control measure. To implement the KA, the cumulative of 1.6 Gt CO2-eq emissions would be reduced. Under the other two accelerated mitigation scenarios, the MAC sector's HFCs will reach their emissions peak in 2028 and 2025 and achieve zero emissions in 2050 and 2046, respectively. Under the accelerated mitigation with recovery scenario, the cumulative emissions are only 15.0% of the business as usual (BAU) scenario. Using HFO-1234yf as the substitute, the unit abatement cost of the MAC sector is 27.3–37.4 USD t−1 CO2-eq.

A low‐profile dual‐band dual‐polarized tightly spaced antenna array with artificial magnetic conductor surface for 5G micro base station application

A novel low-profile dual-band dual-polarized tightly spaced antenna array with artificial magnetic conductor (AMC) surface for 5G micro base station application is proposed in this paper. The main radiating element is a pair of crossed annular dipoles, excited with two different resonant modes in orthogonal arms. The radiator is backed by an additional dual-band AMC reflector located 0.03 λ0 below. Four such elements are then tightly spaced to form an antenna array. By replacing the four interior AMC patches with an S-shaped patch, the strong coupling at the lower band is successfully mitigated. The final results show that the dual-band array has an impedance bandwidth of 13.8% (2.44–2.80 GHz) and 6% (4.75–5.03 GHz), covering the sub-6GHz band of China Mobile. The antenna's peak realized gain is 10 dBi at the lower band and 13.7 dBi at the upper band, making it a good candidate for 5G micro base stations.

Internet-of-Things object model

Background: With the advancement of communication technology and advanced sensors, there are massive demands for Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications in buildings, communities, factories, parks, etc. Accessing IoT devices provides convenience for scene management and monitoring, ameliorating production and life intelligently. However, due to the lack of a unified model for IoT devices, data is often skipped over IoT platforms and transmitted to applications directly. This leads to the fact that each manufacturer needs to produce its devices and develop its customized software, which hugely increases the development cycle. On the other hand, it is difficult to convey information between different systems, limiting cross- system control. Moreover, digital twin relies on large amounts of heterogeneous data, and it is impracticable to provide enough data without a unified model for device description. Methods: First, we illustrate the motivation, design goals, and design principles for creating the Internet-of-Things Object Model (IoT-OM). Then we propose a unified description to define IoT devices. The proposed concept has been accepted by several companies, and we analyse one platform that adopts the model. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the model, we introduce two projects based on the platform. One project is an intelligent fire protection system, and another project is an intelligent air quality monitoring system. Results: We measured the time taken by five companies when developing IoT devices and their applications, including the development cycle duration without utilizing the proposed model and the duration using the model at China Mobile’s OneNET platform. The results prove that the proposed model can significantly shorten the development cycle. Conclusions: This paper proposes a model for IoT devices, which helps to unify heterogeneous data among different manufacturers and helps to shorten the development cycles for developers.

Structure learning‐based unsupervised root cause diagnosis for radio access networks

The next generation radio access networks (RAN) put forward higher requirements for the reliability of base stations. Telecom operators are facing a series of challenges such as network complexity and diversified user needs, which puts forward higher requirements for the performance of RAN. In order to provide users with high-quality experience, causes of performance problems must be quickly identified. Previous work on unsupervised RAN performance diagnosis mainly used correlation information of the data. This work introduces causality into performance diagnosis of RAN. A score-based directed acyclic graph (DAG) structure learning network is used to extract causal relations between key performance indicators (KPIs). In this study, an unsupervised root cause analysis (RCA) scheme, DAG-RCA, is proposed to achieve rapid diagnosis of abnormal performance on the edge nodes of the RAN. DAG-RCA decomposes the work into four phases: abnormal ranking, DAG generation, propagation graph construction and random walk diagnosis. Using the KPI data collected from China Mobile's RAN, DAG-RCA achieves 83.75 % $83.75\%$ top-1 precision on the RCA task.

Research on Micro-motion Modeling and Feature Extraction of Passive Bistatic Radar Based on CMMB Signal

Passive bistatic radar has unique advantages in studying Micro-Doppler effect because of its system characteristics. China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting (CMMB) as a broad range of radio and television signal, its signal adopts multi-carrier Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology, can be used as a good illuminator. Based on the CMMB signal, the scattering point model of helicopter’s echo is established, and the influencing factors of Micro-Doppler frequency are analyzed. On this basis, the Singular-spectrum Analysis combined with Time-frequency analysis and autocorrelation method is used to extract the target micro-motion characteristics. The simulation results verify the rationality of the micro-motion model and the effectiveness of the feature extraction method in this paper.

A Corpus Research of the Corporate Identity—Based on the Sustainability Report of China Mobile and Annual Report of AT&T

A Corpus Research of the Corporate Identity—Based on the Sustainability Report of China Mobile and Annual Report of AT&T

The Social Selection of the Third Party Payment Technology in China on the Social Shaping of Technology Perspective

Compared with QR code payment technology, NFC near-field payment has more advantages of safety and easy using than before; however, QR code payment technology had become the mainstream payment method in China mobile payment market. In this regard, the traditional technological determinism is difficult to fully explain the phenomenon. But, the social shaping theory (SST) could provide a new thinking to expound the historical queries. Based on the research perspective of SST, this paper takes Alipay's QR code payment technology as a case study, analyzed the impact of various social factors on the diffusion of QR code payment technology and explored the strategy of technology commercialization.

Internet of things in telecommunications: A technological perspective

The Internet of Things (IoT) is changing the role of telecommunications service providers in promoting connectivity among people and devices. Through its deployment, the IoT is fostering digitization, technological innovation, and advancement in the telecom industry. Telecom businesses are primarily engaging in IoT platforms through either international collaborations with cloud service providers or local infrastructure deployments. In developing countries, businesses are adopting IoT technology, which is a newly emerging phenomenon. From sim and data sales to new IoT-enabled offerings, telecoms are diversifying their businesses and services. Individuals and businesses can use their services to host IoT devices, applications, and solutions on the IoT platform. This paper discusses IoT technology in telecom in context of a Telecom Company “China Mobile Pakistan” in developing country Pakistan, who is boosting connectivity among people and devices through the deployment of IoT platform OneNET. Through qualitative case study, this paper documents ecosystem, value chain, features, architecture, and functions of IoT platform OneNET. It emphasizes the importance of an IoT platform that aids management, as well as university students, hardware providers, solution providers, equipment suppliers, local application developers, and incubators, in comprehending the complexities of IoT technology for telecoms.

The influence of medical insurance on the use of basic public health services for the floating population: the mediating effect of social integration

BackgroundThe accessibility and fairness of the floating population’s access to basic public health services have an important impact on improving the health level of the whole population. Existing studies have shown that medical insurance and social integration have an impact on basic public health services, but there are few studies on the specific influence path between the three. Therefore, the research purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of medical insurance for urban and rural residents and basic medical insurance for urban employees on the utilization of basic public health services, and to analyze the mediating effect of social integration.MethodsThe data in this paper are derived from the 2017 China Mobile Population Dynamic Monitoring Survey data, which collects information on 31 provinces (regions, cities) and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps mobile population 169,989 people, all of whom come from China’s relatively concentrated mobile population inflow areas (NHC FPSCo. 2021. Floating Population Service Center ofNHC). After deleting part of the missing data and replacing the mean value, 154,586 people were finally included in the analysis. The proportion is 90.9%. Based on the data of China’s floating population dynamic survey in 2017,we used Logistic regression method to analyze the effects of basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, basic medical insurance for urban employees and social integration on the utilization of basic public health services. Then we used the Bootstrap method of structural equation model to analyze the mediating effect of social integration.ResultsMedical insurance for urban and rural residents (β = 0.236;95%CI:1.195 ~ 1.342) has positive impact on health education, it (β = 0,190;95%CI:1.150 ~ 1.272) also has positive impact on the establishment of residents’ health records. Social integration (including political participation (β = 0.312;95%CI:1.324 ~ 1.410),activity participation (β = 0.724;95%CI:2.009 ~ 2.119), identity (β = 0.421; 95%CI:1.387 ~ 1.675))has positive impact on health education, it ((β = 0.312;95%CI:1.324 ~ 1.410), (β = 0.404;95%CI:1.463 ~ 1.534), (β = 0.282;95%CI:1.191 ~ 1.477)) also has positive impact on the establishment of residents’ health records. In addition, BMIUE (β = 0.169;95%CI:1.150 ~ 1.219) has an impact on the establishment of residents’ health records. The direct effect of medical insurance on the utilization of public health services was 0.092 (95%CI: 0.093 ~ 0.103), social integration was a partial mediator, the mediating effect was 0.127 (95%CI: 0.108 ~ 0.127), and the mediating effect size was 57.73%.ConclusionsMedical insurance can directly promote the floating population to use basic public health services, and can indirectly promote the improvement of public health service utilization level through social integration.

Income Differences between Flexibly and Nonflexibly Employed Persons and Their Deconstruction: An Analysis Based on Data from the 2018 China Mobility Monitor

The article analyzed the income differences between flexibly and nonflexibly employed persons based on the 2018 China Mobile Population Dynamics Monitoring Data, using OLS methods, propensity score matching (PSM), and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition. The results show that the income of flexibly employed persons is 11.9%–23.6% higher than that of nonflexibly employed persons, with differences in individual endowment characteristics explaining 53.9% of the income difference and differences in coefficients of nonmarket factors explaining 45.7% of the income difference. The degree of income difference between the two groups in different industries varies; except for the primary industry, the secondary and tertiary industries all show higher income for flexibly employed persons than for nonflexibly employed persons. The difference in income between the two groups was as high as 25% or more in the sectors of “rental and business services,” “education,” and “culture, sports, and entertainment.” The high ratio of employers and self-employed workers in flexible employment and the fact that the average number of hours worked per week is 12.6 hours higher for flexible workers than for nonflexible workers are important factors contributing to the difference in earnings between these two groups. Clarifying the extent of the current income disparity between flexible and nonflexible employment groups and its sources, and formulating and adjusting relevant policies and measures in a timely manner are conducive to creating a fair and equitable labour market environment and promoting the healthy development of flexible employment under the new circumstances.

Construction and Application of an Intelligent Response System for COVID-19 Voice Consultation in China: A Retrospective Study

Background: The outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to tremendous individuals visit medical institutions for healthcare services. Public gatherings and close contact in clinics and emergency departments may increase the exposure and cross-infection of COVID-19.Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop and deploy an intelligent response system for COVID-19 voice consultation, to provide suggestions of response measures based on actual information of users, and screen COVID-19 suspected cases.Methods: Based on the requirements analysis of business, user, and function, the physical architecture, system architecture, and core algorithms are designed and implemented. The system operation process is designed according to guidance documents of the National Health Commission and the actual experience of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. Both qualitative (system construction) and quantitative (system application) data from the real-world healthcare service of the system were retrospectively collected and analyzed.Results: The system realizes the functions, such as remote deployment and operations, fast operation procedure adjustment, and multi-dimensional statistical report capability. The performance of the machine-learning model used to develop the system is better than others, with the lowest Character Error Rate (CER) 8.13%. As of September 24, 2020, the system has received 12,264 times incoming calls and provided a total of 11,788 COVID-19-related consultation services for the public. Approximately 85.2% of the users are from Henan Province and followed by Beijing (2.5%). Of all the incoming calls, China Mobile contributes the largest proportion (66%), while China Unicom and China Telecom are accounted for 23% and 11%. For the time that users access the system, there is a peak period in the morning (08:00–10:00) and afternoon (14:00–16:00), respectively.Conclusions: The intelligent response system has achieved appreciable practical implementation effects. Our findings reveal that the provision of inquiry services through an intelligent voice consultation system may play a role in optimizing the allocation of healthcare resources, improving the efficiency of medical services, saving medical expenses, and protecting vulnerable groups.

The emergence of multiplatform ecosystems: insights from China's mobile payments system in overcoming bottlenecks to reach the mass market

This paper examines the preconditions and processes necessary for multiplatform ecosystems to emerge, grow and prosper, with particular emphasis on how bottlenecks that constrain their scale-up can be overcome. Using a longitudinal case study, we track how China developed the world's largest mobile payments industry based on multiplatform ecosystems. Different from ecosystems mediated by a single multi-sided platform, multiplatform ecosystems provide mechanisms to realize complementarity between multiple platforms, sometimes across different industries, to co-create greater value than individual platforms can in isolation and to overcome barriers that stand in the way of mass scale-up. These barriers include: establishing an agreed market architecture; catalysing changes in user behaviour; and earning legitimacy in its socio-technical system. We show how the lead firms play an important role in overcoming these barriers to drive multiplatform ecosystem evolution, enabling the development of other businesses in the ecosystem, and promoting the accumulation of what we term ‘ecosystem goods’ that help the ecosystem create and capture value collectively. These findings enrich our theoretical understanding of the importance of complementary relationships and overcoming barriers to their formation in enabling multiplatform ecosystems to nurture the emergence and scale-up of a nascent industry. We also draw lessons for practising managers and policy implications.

Study on Overseas Market Expanding of Chinese Mobile Payment Enterprises

The development of the economy and of the Internet have promoted the birth of mobile payment. Since the establishment of Alipay, mobile payment has spread rapidly in China. Chinese mobile payment leads the world. Although not the earliest, it is the best developed. At present, China Mobile Payment is represented by Alipay and Tenpay, which not only penetrates into China ’s national life, but also gradually develops overseas. It is not difficult to see that it is inevitable that Chinese mobile payment companies will expand overseas markets. This article will explore the motivation and reasons for expanding overseas markets of Chinese mobile payment companies, in-depth analysis of the resistance that Chinese mobile payment companies may encounter in overseas markets, researching four types of risks of Chinese mobile payment companies in overseas markets, and summarizing countermeasures.

The Clash Over 5G's First Mile: The wireless industry is divided on Open RAN's goal to make network components interoperable

When all is said and done, 5G will cost almost US $1 trillion to deploy over the next half decade. That enormous expense will be borne mostly by network operators, companies like AT&T, China Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, and dozens more around the world that provide cellular service to their customers. Facing such an immense cost, these operators asked a very reasonable question: How can we make this cheaper and more flexible?

Flat Research on the Design and Application of Icon Design in Mobile Phone UI Interface

Flat icon design has been widely applied in web pages and mobile phone UI interface, and has been widely praised for its simplicity, clear color, and directness of information. With the rapid development of Internet e-commerce, according to the survey report of China Internet Network Information Center CNNIC (the 45th), until March 2020, the scale of China's mobile phone netizens has reached 897 million. Mobile phone has become an indispensable part of People's Daily life. It not only provides convenience for people's life and shopping, but also becomes a platform for people's work, study and education. The development of multimedia mobile phones has promoted the flat icon design to flourish. Through analysis and research in this paper, it is concluded that the UI interface flat icon has distinct visual characteristics: concise graphic design elements, strong visual impact color design, distinct order, and so on. According to the visual performance characteristics of the flat icon, a large number of cases are analyzed to obtain the style classification and specific design method of the flat icon design. Therefore, this paper hopes to provide references for relevant designers by analyzing and studying the features of flat icon and design method.

Pioneers of the plantation economy: militarism, dispossession and the limits of growth in the Wa State of Myanmar

The characteristic mobility of highland populations in Southeast Asia relied to a large extent on their particular adaption to an ecological environment: swidden cultivation of tubers on mountain slopes. This ecology corresponded to cosmologies in which potency was limitless, or at least had no fixed and delimited precinct (as did the rice paddies and Buddhist realms in the valleys). Military state building, modern transport, and new crops and agricultural technologies have effectively ended swidden cultivation. In this article, I follow the pioneers of the plantation economy in the Wa State of Myanmar, who dispossess local populations of their land and employ them as plantation labour. The limits of growth and potency they encounter are (a) in the natural environment and (b) in the resistance of local populations. Yet, even though there are such limits, the potency to which these pioneers aspire is still limitless. It is however channelled through a new economy of life, epitomised in the plantation, nourished in excessive feasting, and maintained by the kinship dynamics of capture and care.

Real-Time Rainfall Estimation Using Microwave Links: A Case Study in East China during the Plum Rain Season in 2020.

Accurate and real-time rainfall estimation is a pressing need for forecasting the flood disaster and reducing the loss. In this study, we exploit the potential of estimating the rainfall by microwave links in East China. Eight microwave links at 15 GHz and 23 GHz, operated by China Mobile, are used for estimating the rain rate in real-time in Jiangyin, China from June to July 2020. First, we analyze the correlation between the rain-induced attenuation of microwave links and the rain rate measured by rain gauges. The correlation coefficient values are higher than 0.77 with the highest one over 0.9, showing a strong positive correlation. The real-time results indicate that microwave links estimate the rainfall with a higher temporal resolution than the rain gauges. Meanwhile, the rain rate that was estimated by microwave links also correlates well with the actual rain rate, and most of the values of the mean absolute error are less than 1.50 mm/h. Besides, the total rainfall’s relative deviation values are less than 5% with the smallest one reaching 1%. The quantitative results also indicate that microwave links could lead to better forecasting of water levels and, hence, better warnings for flood disasters.