International Telecommunication Union Research Articles

A Multi-Provider End-to-End Dynamic Orchestration Architecture Approach for 5G and Future Communication Systems

Network segregation is the solution adopted in the IMT-2020 standardization of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), better known as 5G networks (Fifth Generation Mobile Networks), under development to meet the requirements of performance, reliability, energy, and economic efficiency required by applications in the various verticals of current and near-future economic activities. The philosophy adopted for the IMT-2020 standardization relies on the use of Software-Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualization (NFV), and Software-Defined Radio (SDR), i.e., the softwarization of the network. Softwarization allows network segregation through its slicing, which is discussed herein this work. Network slicing is performed by a novel Orchestrator, as provided in IMT-2020, which maintains the end-to-end network slices independent of each other and performs horizontal handover when the possibility of a loss of Quality of Service (QoS) is predictively detected by monitoring quality parameters during operation. Therefore, the Orchestrator is dynamic, operates in uptime, and allows horizontal handover. Hence, it chooses the most appropriate telecommunication infrastructure provider and network operator to guarantee QoS and Quality of Experience (QoE) to end-users in each network segment. These features make this work modern and keep it aligned with the actions being carried out by ITU. Based on this objective, as the main result of this paper, we propose an effective architecture for implementing the Orchestrator, not only to contribute to the state of the art for 5G and beyond communication systems but also to generate economic, technological, and social impacts.

Nordic satellite television as cultural defence in Denmark 1967–1988

ABSTRACT This article explores the ideas of what constituted Nordic television in discussions about the future of Danish television from 1967 to 1988. By the 1960s the Nordic countries already shared television programmes through the Nordvision cooperation. Satellite techno-logy offered a new dimension. The cultural bonds of the Nordic countries were able to be reinforced by sharing television programmes, and just as importantly, Nordic cooperation would shield Nordic viewers from a multitude of foreign channels in the future. The Nordic countries successfully negotiated the exceptional option of sharing a satellite beam across national borders at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) conference in 1977. Still, Nordic satellite television ultimately lost the battle to provincial Denmark in the early 1980s. In accordance with the dominant Danish national self-imagination, the Danish nation was to be defended from within, and regional television provided what was perceived as an authentic defence against West German television flowing across the border.

Parametric Analysis of the Defected Ground Structure-Based Hairpin Band Pass Filter for VSAT System on Chip Applications

In this study, a three-pole hairpin structure was fabricated on the top of the substrate material and an open loop microstrip structure at the ground to give a modified triple-band BPF with a unique design. A Rogers (RT5880) material with εr = 2.2 and thickness of 1.27mm was used to fabricate the proposed structure. The space between two consecutive hairpin resonators has different distances d1 and d2 with values of 0.2mm and 0.4mm respectively. The proposed filter offers a compact size with low return loss. The equivalent LC circuit of the DGS and hairpin structure is obtained with the Ansys electronic desktop and by using simple circuit analysis. The desired microstrip triple-band BPF operates at the Ku band, resonates at 10.28GHz, 12GHz, and 14.62GHz, while the simulated and experimental results are almost identical. The proposed wideband BPF satisfies the International Telecommunication Union ((ITU) region 3 spectrum requirements. Direct Broadcast Service (DBS) and Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) in transmit mode respectively employ the frequency band 11.41-12.92GHz and 14-14.5GHz.

The Art of 6G (TAO 6G): how to wire Society 5.0 [Invited

The opening Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition 2021 plenary talk on how technologies and applications drive the evolution of networking concluded by presenting the equation Networking = Art + Science + Engineering. Due to their growing complexity, modern networks may be better viewed as techno-social systems that resemble biological superorganisms. In this paper, we expand on the aforementioned equation in the context of future 6G mobile networks, putting a focus on its first part, the Art of 6G (TAO 6G). To set the stage, we first elaborate on the 6G vision from an optical fiber fixed networks perspective, taking into account the respective viewpoints of the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector and the FTTH Council Europe as well as the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s recently launched fifth-generation fixed network initiative of bringing fiber to everywhere and everything, which is supposed to be the foundation of the new digital age and is a prerequisite for the digital transformation of the whole society. Towards this end, we present our ideas on what the digital society of the future will or potentially could look like. After briefly reviewing our work on tactile immersive use cases of so-called cyber-physical-social systems (CPSS), we inquire into the emerging human-centric Industry 5.0 and its mutually beneficial underlying principles of digitalization and, more interestingly, biologization. Specifically, we borrow ideas from biological superorganisms with brain-like cognitive capabilities found in natural societies for a stigmergy-enhanced Society 5.0, using tokenized digital twins for advancing collective intelligence in CPSS via indirect communication. Finally, we present our CPSS-based bottom-up token engineering framework designed for Society 5.0.

Analysis ICT Effect on Indonesian Exports With Emerging Market Countries

<p>The development of information and communication technology (ICT) has recently affected international trade besides macroeconomic variables. This study aims to analyze the influence of ICTs (internet users, mobile cellular subscriptions, and fixed telephone subscriptions) and macroeconomic variables (population, economic distance, real GDP per capita, and real exchange rate) on Indonesian export performance with 6 countries emerging markets. This study uses secondary data sourced from UN Comtrade, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), World Bank, Distancefrom.net, and Federal Reserve Economic Data. Then, this study uses a static panel data analysis with the Ordinary Least Suares (OLS) method.</p><p>The results showed that internet users had a positive and significant effect on export performance, and fixed telephone subscriptions had a negative and insignificant effect. Other results showed that the population had a positive and significant effect on export performance, the distance of the economy had a negative and significant effect on export performance, real per capita GDP had a negative and insignificant effect on export performance, and the real exchange rate had a negative and significant effect on export performance.</p><p>Keywords: emerging markets, export performance, ICT, macroeconomic variables, OLS methods.</p>

Bidirectional switchable beam splitter/filter based graphene loaded Si ring resonators

Using bus waveguides coupled to the graphene-loaded Si-ring resonators (GSRRs) all on a Si-on-insulator substrate, we propose a compact bidirectional switchable beam splitter/filter controlled by graphene-based electro-absorptive (refractive) mode modulation. The design is suitable for dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM), according to International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard. The proposed device consists of a through waveguide coupled to two drop waveguides via two GSRRs. Each GSRR consists of a stack of hBN/graphene/hBN nanolayers sandwiched between two Si-ring resonators. Using a finite difference time domain method, we have tuned the resonant wavelengths of GSRRs in the range of 1551.5 < λ < 1552.1 nm, linearly with the slope of ∼ 2.46 nm eV−1 via appropriately changing the graphene chemical potential, electrostatically. The numerical results show that when both GSRRs are in an electro-refractive state and a transverse electric (TE) polarized light beam of an appropriate wavelength is launched into one of the though-ports, ∼ 84.5% of the input intensity equally splits between the adjacent drop-ports. The transmission out of the second through-port is less than 0.8%. The numerical results further show that when one GSRR is in an electro-refractive mode, and the other one is in an electro-absorptive state, ∼ 68.4% of the input intensity transmits out of the drop-port adjacent to the former GSRR, and the other ports experience insignificant outputs (<0.7%). The device’s structural symmetry makes it a bidirectional tunable, suitable for long-haul optical telecommunication applications. Finally, we investigated the fabrication tolerances in the designed parameters.

On‐field test campaign performance of VDE‐SAT Link ID 20 over Norsat‐2 LEO satellite

SummaryThe latest technical recommendation by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for a data exchange system in the VHF maritime mobile band defines a random access channel (RAC) for communications on the uplink channel between vessels and satellites. The physical layer frame for random uplink channel is designed to allow for a more efficient use of the power amplifiers and includes features to assist the satellite receivers to resolve overlapping reception of multiple messages. This paper presents the performance results of an over‐the‐air test campaign carried out exploiting the NorSat‐2 Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite. After a review of the VDE‐SAT RAC and Link ID 20 burst, a possible demodulator implementation is shown. Then, the VDE‐SAT transmitter platform, located in Pisa, Italy, emulating a population of vessels transmitting to the NorSat‐2 LEO satellite is introduced, and the test cases are described. Afterward, the analysis of the recorded signals is provided. The post‐analysis first focuses on the demodulation performance in terms of probability of successful demodulation of the interfering bursts. Further investigation has also been carried out to better understand the interference environment in this frequency band for satellite signal reception. Tests indicate promising results of successfully detecting and demodulating up to 22 overlapping RAC messages, confirming the robustness of the protocol. Finally, capitalizing on the above analysis, conclusions suggest possible improvements.

Development of a new rain attenuation model for tropical location

This study proposes a new rain attenuation prediction model (RAM) based on the rain cell concept for tropical locations. The new model addresses the research gap in the international telecommunications union (ITU) model. Results obtained show that the proposed RAM predicted the possibility of signal across seven (7) out of thirteen (13) stations monitored. The predicted attenuation values were 18.3427 dB, 18.8106 dB, 18.3921 dB, 13.8062 dB, 20.8803 dB, 9.4519 dB, and 19.6018 dB for Jalingo, Jos, Makurdi, Mubi, Otukpo, Sokoto, and Abuja respectively. However, the RAM predicted outage across six stations with predicted attenuation values of 31.7040 dB, 26.8302 dB, 28.6635 dB, 29.6562 dB, 28.8827 dB, and 30.0614 dB for Akwa-Ibom, Benin, Donga, Port-Harcourt, Owerri, and Aba respectively. The proposed RAM hence suggests an additional Ku-band spot beam power of at least 331.97 watts for Nigeria's Nigerian communication satellite-1 (NIGCOMSAT-1R) Ku-band transponder to overcome the predicted attenuation across the six stations which recorded signal outage. The results from this study can be used by network engineers for the implementation of fade mitigation techniques (FMTs) such as site diversity and power control to aid telecommunication networks anticipate changes and allocate resources accordingly.

Radio frequency compatibility analysis for BDSBAS and GPS/WAAS

Radio frequency signal compatibility is the basis of interoperability of the Satellite e-Based Augmentation System (SBAS). SBAS should abide by relative international radio regulations of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and meet the compatibility requirements of radio frequency signal between the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)/SBAS, in order to avoid negative mutual interference. According to ITU Proposal and related reference and assumptions, the paper made simulation of signal receiving maximum power in the BeiDou Satellite-Based Augmentation System (BDSBAS) global signal coverage. And then, interference of BDSBAS to Global Positioning System (GPS)/WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) on L1/L5 bands were calculated and analyzed, with equivalent carrier-to-noise ratio as the evaluation parameter. The result shows that the carrier-to-noise ratio decrease of GPS/WAAS caused by BDSBAS B1C and B2a signals are extremely lower than inter-system interference of GPS/WAAS, and thus can be ignored in practical applications. Therefore, BDSBAS will not cause the service performance degradation of GPS and WAAS.

Role and Relevance of International Organizations in Present Global scenario

" With dynamic international socio-economic, political, and climate change scenarios the role and relevance of international organizations are continuously changing. An international organization has a stable set of norms and rules to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system. The first and oldest International organization being established employing a treaty, and creating a permanent secretariat, with global membership was the International telecommunication union (Founded in 1865).The First general international organization addressing a variety of issue-was the League of Nations. The United Nations followed this mode; after world war-II. The present study is focusing on the role and relevance of international organizations in the present global scenario. It analyzes the importance of the international organization in socio-economic and political as well as environmental development across the world. It will provide greater insight towards identifying the challenges present in the global scenario and in turn role and relevance of international organizations to solve them. It fulfills current literature gaps and provides a base for future research trajectories"

Investigation and Analysis of ICT development index (IDI) for measuring ICT resources in Georgia

Abstract. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are a set of equipment (devices, systems, etc.) and techniques with associated software (software systems and software tools) that have been developed and used for more efficient communication, creation, distribution, storage and management of information. The IDI (ICT Development Index) index is most often used to measure ICT resources, which is defined as a composite index that combines 11 indicators (classified into 3 sub-indices: Access, Use and Skills). Data on values of IDI index has been retrieved from Measuring the Information Society Report (MISR), which since 2008 has been publishing by International Telecommunications Union (ITU). The IDI index for 2017 was determined for 176 countries of the world, with the first on the ranking list was Iceland with IDI2017=8.98 and the last Eritrea with IDI2017=0.96. The mean value of IDI index for 2017 was Avg=5.11, standard deviation was StD=2.22 and coefficient of variation was CoV=43.52. In this paper is given of analysis of IDI (ICT development index) for measuring ICT resources in Georgia. The data were approximated using a 3rd degree polynomial regression model (PRM3) with a correlation coefficient R=0.9964, determination coefficient R2=0.9928 and adjustment coefficient of determination is AdjR2=0.9885.

ITU-R Study Group 6 Progress Report 2020–2021

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) for information and communication technologies. Its primary roles are to allocate global radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to information communication technologies (ICTs) to underserved communities worldwide.

Best Paper from the Twelfth ITU Kaleidoscope Academic Conference

This special section presents an updated version of the paper that won the first prize award in the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) Kaleidoscope conference (K-2020).

Forum of the World Summit on the Information Society: Chairmanship of the Russian Federation

The year 2021 is a significant one for the Communications Administration of the Russian Federation: We are chairing the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Forum for the first time. That decision was made in late 2020, after which we immediately set out to make this a truly substantive event. The WSIS Forum has been bringing together stakeholders since 2009 at the initiative of the relevant UN agency, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and is supported by the leading members of the United Nations family: UNESCO, UNCTAD, and UNDP. It is the world's largest annual meeting devoted to the topic of ICTs for development. The WSIS Forum has evolved into the key global event on ICTs for development, an efficient mechanism for multistakeholder implementation of WSIS Action Lines and the SDGs focusing on gender equality, accessibility, young people and the elderly, knowledge creation, and the sharing of good practices, including coping with COVID-19 challenges using ICTs.

The role of digital skill in mitigating digital divide: evidences from Asia-Pacific region

PurposeThis paper aims to make a modest attempt to classify the Asia-Pacific countries in terms of the access to information and communication technology (ICT) to unearth the prevalence of digital divide (if any) in the Asia-Pacific region. In addition to that, this paper also examines the role played by the digital skill in bridging the digital divide in the context of Asia–Pacific countries.Design/methodology/approachSecondary data on 43 Asia-Pacific countries for the period from 2012 to 2017 was collected from International Telecommunication Union (ITU) database and World Development Indicators, World Bank. K-means clustering technique was applied to explore the natural grouping of the Asia-Pacific countries based on ICT access. The role of digital/ICT skill in narrowing the access-based digital divide was investigated using panel data regression technique.FindingsClustering of countries suggested a significant difference amongst the Asia-Pacific countries in terms of ICT access, signifying the prevalence of access based digital divide. Digital skill played pivotal role in promoting ICT access and thereby reducing the digital divide during the period of the study. Per capita income level, level of education, openness of the economy and urbanisation were observed to be the determining factors in reducing the digital divide during the period of study in the Asia-Pacific region.Originality/valueThe study makes an unique attempt to explore the role of digital/ICT skill in tapering the access-based digital divide in the context of Asia-Pacific region.

Machine learning for performance prediction of channel bonding in next-generation IEEE 802.11 WLANS

With the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-empowered communications, industry, academia, and standardization organizations are progressing on the definition of mechanisms and procedures to address the increasing complexity of future 5G and beyond communications. In this context, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organized the First AI for 5G Challenge to bring industry and academia together to introduce and solve representative problems related to the application of Machine Learning (ML) to networks. In this paper, we present the results gathered from Problem Statement 13 (PS-013), organized by Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), whose primary goal was predicting the performance of next-generation Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) applying Channel Bonding (CB) techniques. In particular, we provide an overview of the ML models proposed by participants (including artificial neural networks, graph neural networks, random forest regression, and gradient boosting) and analyze their performance on an open data set generated using the IEEE 802.11ax-oriented Komondor network simulator. The accuracy achieved by the proposed methods demonstrates the suitability of ML for predicting the performance of WLANs. Moreover, we discuss the importance of abstracting WLAN interactions to achieve better results, and we argue that there is certainly room for improvement in throughput prediction through ML.

The graph neural networking challenge

During the last decade, Machine Learning (ML) has increasingly become a hot topic in the field of Computer Networks and is expected to be gradually adopted for a plethora of control, monitoring and management tasks in real-world deployments. This poses the need to count on new generations of students, researchers and practitioners with a solid background in ML applied to networks. During 2020, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has organized the "ITU AI/ML in 5G challenge", an open global competition that has introduced to a broad audience some of the current main challenges in ML for networks. This large-scale initiative has gathered 23 different challenges proposed by network operators, equipment manufacturers and academia, and has attracted a total of 1300+ participants from 60+ countries. This paper narrates our experience organizing one of the proposed challenges: the "Graph Neural Networking Challenge 2020". We describe the problem presented to participants, the tools and resources provided, some organization aspects and participation statistics, an outline of the top-3 awarded solutions, and a summary with some lessons learned during all this journey. As a result, this challenge leaves a curated set of educational resources openly available to anyone interested in the topic.

Evolving Ethical and Regulatory Framework for Artificial Intelligence for Health

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) / World Health Organization (WHO) / Focus Group (FG) on artificial intelligence for health (FG-AI4H) works in partnership with the (WHO) to establish a standardized assessment framework for the evaluation of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based methods for health, diagnosis, triage or treatment decisions. This working group of ITU/WHO "Regulatory considerations for AI" is helping to guide the FG in navigating the regulatory landscape; facilitating contacts, information exchange, and collaborative opportunities of the FG with regulatory bodies. This paper has outlined the key regulatory considerations that are relevant to regulatory agencies for AI development and to define ways to successfully benchmark the AI for health algorithms.

Access Digital Divide in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA): Current State and Measures for Improvement

In this age the emergence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has been identified as a major step toward solve the problems challenged the nation development. Problems such as corruption, delays in service delivery, lack of public sector accountability can be overcome with ICT. Furthermore, ICT are the key factors in improving government business and human sustainable development in all life aspects. Whilst the ICT considered the key to these problems but owning these technologies was facing many obstacles staring from bought them to continuous use, and create a gap between countries and within a country from the perspective of who does have computer and networks communication and who doesn't, and this refers to the digital divide. Some aspects of the digital divide exist everywhere and not only related to developing countries but also the size of the gap, which is different in countries and within a single community. This study focuses on the digital divide problem by exploring the current state of the access digital divide in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) based on three main research questions. And to achieve that, Data collected from International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), and World Bank were used. The study found that Saudi Arabia is suffering from the access digital divide, and there is a strong link between household income and the access digital divide resulting from unaffordable prices in both ICT and broadband services and this gap tends to be larger in the regions where the inhabitants have the lowest income level. The study recommends that the government should give improving household income the highest priorities and at the same time offering affordable prices for broadband services. Also, the study finds that mobile penetration represents a valuable resource for the Saudi Arabia government to be investing in delivering government services through mobile platforms. Finally, the study recommends that public-private partnerships with promoting and encouraging the private sectors to invest in ICT is one of the most important measurements in bridging the access digital divide.

Restrictions on Trade in Telecommunications: WTO’s Cybersecurity Conundrum

This article examines the role of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in balancing the nexus among a rule-based multilateral trade system, national security, and cybersecurity. It presents a historical account of restrictions placed on the telecommunications trade over national security concerns and focuses on the significant political risks thereof for the WTO if these restrictions are challenged at its dispute settlement system. An analysis based on the WTO Panel rulings in ‘Russia – Traffic in Transit’ and ‘Saudi Arabia – Protection of IPRs’ is revealing in this context. It shows that, despite the obvious cybersecurity concerns, the invocation of the national security exception is not straightforward. The turn to power politics and regionalism highlights the significance of multilateral organizations that provide a more inclusive structure to reflect and protect the interests of all their members, not just those that hold positions of power and control. As long as the stalemate at organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) continues, despite the need for a more legitimate, inclusive multilateral framework, the expectation of a ruling on trade-related aspects of cybersecurity will place an unnecessary burden on the WTO dispute settlement system. Cybersecurity, World Trade Organization, National Security Exception, Telecommunications, Multilateralism, Regionalism, Geopolitics