International Telecommunication Union Research Articles

Prospects of standardization of the internet of things in international communication organizations

Research firm Gartner defines IoT as a network of physical objects that contain the means to interact with the environment and with each other, as well as to transmit information about their status and receive commands. McKinsey offers a less abstract definition: IoTs are sensors and drives built into physical devices and Internet connections over wired or wireless networks. IoT is developed not only by device manufacturers, but also by specialized organizations, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Industrial Internet Consortium and the IETF. In the recommendations of Y.2060 of the International Telecommunication Union, called the Overview of the Internet of Things, the Internet of Things appears as «a global infrastructure that provides complex services by connecting physical and virtual things based on existing and evolving, functionally compatible information and communication technologies». A thing in this definition means an object of the physical or virtual world that can be identified and connected to communication networks. A device in the context of IoT is an element of equipment that has the required communication capabilities and can perform measurements, operate under certain conditions, enter, store and process data. As is typical of any new concept, the process of standardizing the Internet of Things has gone from understanding the network architecture, requirements and capabilities of «things» and ways to apply them to specific technologies that allow to organize the Internet of Things direct interaction of «things» with each other and with devices and people from the outside environment. The article considers the peculiarities of the main organizations involved in IoT standardization at the global level, identifies technological, economic and social benefits of ISO standards, offers a variant of building a topology for the study of IoT protocols, which corresponds to the architecture of the Internet of Things.

Performance Evaluation of MGfast Systems Over Coaxial Cables

A trend for the 5th generation fixed broadband access networks is to provide data rates as high as 10 Gbps to the subscribers. Since fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity is still expensive, the use of alternative architectures is attractive in some scenarios. In this context, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is standardizing the MGfast access technology to provide multi-gigabit transmission over copper media. This paper evaluates the performance of MGfast systems adopting RG-59, RG-6 and RG-11 coaxial cables as interface between the distribution point units (DPUs) and the customer premises equipment (CPE). The operation mode of MGfast is assumed to be synchronized time division duplexing (STDD) and a simple loading method for power allocation is employed. Simulation results show that, for loop lengths less than 100 m, data rate as high as 11 Gbps can be achieved using a transmission profile that goes up to 848 MHz. Assuming a profile that goes up to 1696 MHz, the data rates can be as high as 23 Gbps.

Health Risks Associated With 5G Exposure: A View From the Communications Engineering Perspective

The deployment of the fifth-generation (5G) wireless communication services requires the installation of 5G next-generation Node-B Base Stations (gNBs) over the territory and the wide adoption of 5G User Equipment (UE). In this context, the population is concerned about the potential health risks associated with the Radio Frequency (RF) emissions from 5G equipment, with several communities actively working toward stopping the 5G deployment. To face these concerns, in this work, we analyze the health risks associated with 5G exposure by adopting a new and comprehensive viewpoint, based on the communications engineering perspective. By exploiting our background, we investigate the alleged health effects of 5G exposure and critically review the latest works that are often referenced to support the health concerns from 5G. We then precisely examine the up-to-date metrics, regulations, and assessment of compliance procedures for 5G exposure, by evaluating the latest guidelines from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as well as the national regulations in more than 220 countries. We also thoroughly analyze the main health risks that are frequently associated with specific 5G features (e.g., multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), beamforming, cell densification, adoption of millimeter waves, and connection of millions of devices). Finally, we examine the risk mitigation techniques based on communications engineering that can be implemented to reduce the exposure from 5G gNB and UE. Overall, we argue that the widely perceived health risks that are attributed to 5G are not supported by scientific evidence from communications engineering. In addition, we explain how the solutions to minimize the health risks from 5G (including currently unknown effects) are already mature and ready to be implemented. Finally, future works, e.g., aimed at evaluating long-term impacts of 5G exposure, as well as innovative solutions to further reduce the RF emissions, are suggested.

International Telecommunication Union Standardization for Trust Provisioning in Information, Communication and Technology Infrastructure toward Achieving United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals

The advancement of the fourth industrial revolution has shaped the integration and interaction of different information, communication and technologies (ICTs) in the merging cyber, physical, and social infrastructures. The impact of ICT has accelerated the progress of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) and influenced the evolution of smart, sustainable, stable society development. Making the trustworthy information and communication technologies infrastructure widely available will promote the community innovation needed to stimulate domestic economics, provide decent work, and reduce inequalities. This article attempts to outline a big picture about the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)’s trust provisioning framework, including its motivation, current status, and application for achieving the UN SDGs by 2030. This article first describes the purpose of the UN SDGs and the evolution of the industrial revolution, then demonstrates the challenges of global risks affecting the fourth industrial revolution and the need for trustworthy ICT infrastructures. Subsequently, the article evaluates the ITU trust provisioning framework and assesses its applications in the future knowledge society, trust provisioning ecosystem, and cyber, physical, and social infrastructure toward achieving UN SDGs. Use cases are also presented in this article to show the effectiveness of the ITU trust provisioning framework on achieving UN SDGs.

Terahertz Integrated Circuits and Systems for High-Speed Wireless Communications: Challenges and Design Perspectives

This paper presents challenges and design perspectives for terahertz (THz) integrated circuits and systems. THz means different things to different people. From International Telecommunication Union (ITU) perspective, THz radiation primarily means frequency range from 300 – 3000 GHz. However, recently, a more expansive definition of THz has emerged that covers frequencies from 100 GHz to 10 THz, which includes sub-THz (100 – 300 GHz), ITU-defined THz frequencies. This definition is now commonly used by communication theorists, and since this paper is intended for people with a wide variety of expertise in system and circuit design, we have adopted the latter definition. The paper brings to the open unmitigated shortcomings of conventional transceiver architectures for multi gigabit-per-second wireless applications, unfolds challenges in designing THz transceivers, and provides pathways to address these impediments. Furthermore, it goes through design challenges and candidate solutions for key circuit blocks of a transceiver including front-end amplifiers, local oscillator (LO) circuit and LO distribution network, and antennas intended for frequencies above 100 GHz.

A survey on key enabling technologies towards 5G

Recently the market has been hit with 5G innovations and ceramic materials are an integral aspect of its technical growth. Since the number of users is increasing day by day, a high data rate and improved spectral efficiency become the prime need of today’s wireless networks. 5G is an end-to-end network that provides improved data capacity, high-performance broadcast services, low latency, and can support millions of connected devices. The fifth-generation network claims to satisfy the tremendous demands of the growing number of users by using cutting edge technologies. Different characteristics of 5G mobile communication technology and its key requirements as given by its basis ITU (International Telecommunication Union) have been explored. This paper discusses the basic understanding of the key enabling technologies of the 5G network. Furthermore, it also focuses on the different applications of 5G wireless communication and throws light upon the challenges which are lying ahead in the development of the 5G era.

Mapping the 5G Leadership Landscape: The Impact of Global Telecommunications Standard Setting on U.S. Strategy and Policy

This paper explores global 5G and wireless innovation leadership in standard setting organizations, analyzing declared patents, the number of standards submissions, and activity and leadership in international standards-setting bodies, specifically the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). U.S. policymakers appear wary of the potential for unfair strategic gamesmanship in standards setting organizations by Chinese actors, and with good reason. The United States and U.S.-based technology companies throughout the wireless ecosystem have benefited from years of global technology standards grounded in fair process rewarding successful innovation. Chinese policy aims to dominate the industries of the future, not necessarily through fair processes. Understanding the scope and scale of China’s standards setting activities will help to inform policymakers on when, where, and how to direct resources to ensure effective standards creation and continued U.S. leadership in high-technology innovation. 3GPP, the primary driving force behind the development of 5G specifications, is designed with transparency, consensus, and fairness in mind. Both analysis and anecdote indicate its governance mechanisms are generally working well. Conflict is rare, representation does not appear dramatically skewed, and outcomes mostly appear fair. However, this does not mean this will always be the case, or that other standards-setting bodies, particularly in smaller bodies or those with weaker structures might not be undermined. Analysis of standard-setting organizations’ governance models, informal observation, and support for good governance mechanisms across standard setting bodies, ideally in partnership with like-minded allies would all be helpful policy actions. However, these efforts can go too far: explicit government coordination or identification of strategic standards priorities risk an acceleration of unfair tactics or balkanization of otherwise global standards. A narrow focus on standards bodies themselves would miss rich opportunities for boosting future U.S. standards leadership. Continued U.S. competitiveness in technological innovation requires a coherent set of policies to support the STEM talent pool and advanced research and development. Policymakers should look to support the beginning of the innovation road, versus fixating on the near-end of the journey at standards-setting bodies. Supporting standards-setting activity is important, but in order to maintain true competitiveness, policymakers must help enable the activity that allows firms to lead in fair standards bodies.

Study and Analysis for the Choice of Optical Fiber in the Implementation of High-Capacity Backbones in Data Transmission

Fiber optic implementation projects for backbones today have become a necessity, where in many cases failures due to cable stress breaks have been reported. Due to this, it is necessary to carry out a study and analysis of the zone and area prior to implementation. In this research work, through a method based on theory and analysis, the geographical and climatological conditions where the optical fiber will be installed in the Lima region, Peru, will be evaluated, as well as the study of mechanical loads and electric fields associated with the installation of fiber optics on existing electrical network lines will also be carried out. The results of this study showed that for regional backbone projects in the city of Lima, Peru, the use of the type of optical fiber should be considered under the recommendation of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) -T G.652.D All -Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS). The studies and results obtained in this research may also help the various companies in the sector, in future implementations of high-capacity fiber optic backbones in data transmission, to make the best decision on the type of cable and its recommended characteristics for the region.

Rate of internet diffusion among ASEAN countries using bass model

ABSTRACT This paper examines the rate of Internet diffusion among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) nations during 2001-2018. This study utilizes the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2001-2018 dataset. The bass model was used to estimate and forecast the Internet potential adopters, innovators, and imitators in determining the rate and patterns of internet diffusion and adoption across ASEAN countries. The results showed that the Internet diffusion rate among ASEAN countries is well characterized by an S-shape curve. The predicted diffusion curves provide evidence that high-income countries have higher diffusion rates comparing the upper-middle and lower-income countries in the ASEAN. The forecast results show that the country with the highest inflection point is also the country that becomes the least in the Internet diffusion and adoption process. The results also indicate that among ASEAN countries, four have reached their peak of adoption before 2018, two have reached their saturation point, and one is continuously dominating since the introduction of the Internet.

Internet Diffusion Rate among ASEAN Countries

This paper examines the rate of Internet diffusion among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries during the period 2001-2018. The Bass diffusion model was used to estimate the total number of potential adopters, the coefficient of innovation, and the coefficient of imitation. This paper uses the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2001-2018 dataset to study the rate of Internet diffusion. The results show that Internet diffusion among ASEAN countries was characterized by different S-shaped curves of the diffusion process. The estimated diffusion curves provide evidence that high-income countries in the ASEAN have higher diffusion rate as compared to the lower-income countries. Further, the study found that the country that has the highest rate in the point of inflection is also the country that has the lowest rate of Internet diffusion. The results also indicate that among the 10 members of the ASEAN countries, four of which have reached their peak of adoption before 2018, and two of which have reached the saturation point of the diffusion process, and one of which is continuously dominating since the launch of Internet up to the present while the rests are closely following the path made by high-income countries.

Toward 6G: Understanding network requirements and key performance indicators

AbstractAlthough the fifth‐generation (5G) is not yet officially launched, researchers worldwide have turned to the sixth‐generation (6G) communications system. The 3G has opened the gap to fourth‐generation (4G). It will be the same for 5G, which will facilitate the path to 6G. The technology 5G provides a high‐level infrastructure enabling various technologies such as autonomous cars, artificial intelligence, drone networking, mobile broadband communication, and, most importantly, the Internet of Things (IoT) and the concept of smart cities. We are, therefore, in the middle of the fourth industrial revolution (Industry 4.0). However, as new technologies gain traction, networks become increasingly complex and difficult to pin down to keep networks operating at the level prescribed by evolving services. The ultimate goal of 6G is to move from the concept of the Internet of intelligent things to the new idea of the intelligent Internet of intelligent things. This article shows the features and tools of 6G technology that will help meet these traffic needs. Besides, we highlight the main feature of the 6G, in terms of architecture and services, scheduled as recommended by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in its current technical specifications and discussions on the latest research in this area.

The Smart Sustainable City concept: A system of indicators to assess the regional sustainability and development adaptability

Subject. This article discusses the issues related to the digital development of cities and regions. Objectives. The article aims to create a system of indicators to assess the capacity of smart resilience of Russian cities. Methods. To create such a system, we analyzed the standards developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI). Results. The article proposes a system of indicators, including a large number of indicators, combined in seven blocks. The indicators can be supplemented and revised as part of public discussion. Conclusions. The Smart Sustainable City concept can be considered realized if the city knowledge-based social capital is formed and intelligent management is implemented.

La brecha de ciberseguridad en América Latina frente al contexto global de ciberamenazas

This research is based on the hypothesis that the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean are lagging behind in the construction of cyber defense capabilities to face the international context of cyber threats, with respect to the member countries of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), both in the organizational plan, as in the individual. To prove this statement, the text is divided into six sections. The first part presents the global environment of cyber threats, the economic losses suffered by governments and companies according to reports from information security firms such as Kaspersky, Microsoft, Verizon and International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). The second part presents the internet securitization process, the immersion of cybersecurity in national security studies, and the definition of cyber capabilities and the delimitation of threats to the Nation-State from cyberspace are addressed. The third part shows the trajectory of NATO as an organization in the development of cyber capabilities in the last twenty years. In the fourth part, a set of National Cybersecurity Strategies (ENCS) of NATO countries and allies is analyzed from the individual level, from which their main elements are extracted and their general anatomy is outlined. In the sixth part, an approach to different regional or global cybersecurity environments is presented based on measurements of the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI), of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the National Cyber Security Index (NSCI) of the Estonian E-Governance Academy. The fifth section presents the context of cybersecurity in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to studies made by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS), as well as private cybersecurity firms. In the sixth, two case studies of Mexico, from the 2019-2020, are briefly presented, which represent the lack of maturity of its ENCS and development of cyber capabilities, an aspect that it shares with most of the countries of Latin America and Caribbean. Finally, brief conclusions are presented on the aspects to be strengthened by the region.

BiCMOS-Based High-Performance THz-Wave Couplers for 5G and Beyond

For supporting communication links with increased date-rate between the base-station and the user, more higher operating frequencies with much broader bandwidth have to be used. Terahertz (THz) bands are very promising to meet such demands and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has approved a THz-band for the fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication and beyond in 2019, which is driving the research interests in THz-wave wireless communication systems worldwide. The key challenging now is how to reduce the entire THz-wave systems' sizes and weights, and particularly the costs.

On the Mutual Interference Between Spaceborne SARs: Modeling, Characterization, and Mitigation

Since by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) regulatory the radio spectrum available to spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is restricted to certain limited frequency intervals, there are many different spaceborne SAR systems sharing common frequency bands. Due to this reason, it is reported that two spaceborne SARs at orbit cross positions can potentially cause severe mutual interference. Specifically, the transmitting signal of a SAR, typically linear frequency modulated (LFM), can be directly received by the side or back lobes of another SAR's antenna, causing radiometric artefacts in the focused image. This paper tries to model and characterize the artefacts, and study efficient methods for mitigating them. To this end, we formulate an analytical model for describing the artefact, which reveals that the mutual interference can introduce a two-dimensional LFM radiometric artefact in image domain with a limited spatial extent. We show that the artefact is low-rank based on range-azimuth decoupling analysis and two-dimensional high-order Taylor expansion. Based on the low rank model, we show that two methods, i.e., principle component analysis and its robust variant, can be adopted to efficiently mitigate the artefact via processing in image domain. The former method has the advantage of fast processing speed, for example, a sub-swath of Sentinel-1 interferometric wide swath image can be processed within 70 seconds via block-wise operation, whereas the latter provides improved accuracy for sparse point-like scatterers. Experiment results demonstrate that the radiometric artefacts caused by mutual interference in Sentinel-1 level-1 images can be efficiently mitigated via the proposed methods.

ASSESSING THE COMPLIANCE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS RADIATED BY BASE STATIONS AND WIFI ACCESS POINTS WITH INTERNATIONAL GUIDELINES ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUS.

This paper presents a series of electromagnetic field measurements performed on the campus of Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in order to assess the compliance of radiation levels of cellular base stations and WiFi access points with international guidelines. A calibrated, broadband and isotropic probe is used and recommendations of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are followed up throughout measurements. More than 300 outdoor and indoor locations have been systematically chosen for measurements. The recorded data are post-processed and compared with the guideline of International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). Measured power densities of WiFi access points are low and do not exceed 1% of the level allowed by ICNIRP. For cellular base stations, measured power density is usually low outdoors, but reaches up to 16% of the allowed radiation level in publicly accessible indoor locations. Comprehensive exposure assessment, as recommended by ITU, has been performed to estimate the maximum possible radiation of one indoor base station. It is concluded that precautionary actions have to be taken by university authorities to limit the presence of students in close proximity to specific indoor antennas. Moreover, comprehensive exposure assessment is more likely necessary for indoor base stations whereas such assessment is not usually required outdoors.

A compact inverted Y‐shaped circularly polarized wideband monopole antenna with open loop

AbstractThis article presents a novel, compact, single feed circularly polarized (CP) microstrip antenna. Proposed design involve an inverted Y‐shaped radiating patch fed by an L‐shaped microstrip line feed and a rectangular open‐loop placed near its right corner. A semi‐rectangular ground plane is used on the opposite side of the substrate. Coupling between the rectangular open‐loop and the inverted Y‐shaped patch plays a vital role in attaining wideband CP, while the semi‐rectangular ground plane is crucial for enhancing impedance bandwidth (IBW). The optimized design achieved measured wide IBW of 5.164 GHz (65.53%, spanning over 5.297‐10.461 GHz) having its center frequency (frc) at 7.878 GHz. The corresponding measured axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) obtained inside the measured IBW curve is 2.25 GHz (having its center CP resonating frequency fcp 7.52 GHz, spanning over 6.40‐8.65 GHz, 29.92%). Measurement results are validated in both Ansys Electronics Desktop 2020 R1 and CST Microwave Studio 2018. Proposed antenna is fabricated on FR‐4 epoxy substrate of 1.6 mm thickness and exhibits a very small footprint of just 400 mm2 (20 × 20 mm2) (size 0.58λmgL × 0.58λmgL × 0.046λmgL, where λmgL is the measured guided wavelength at lower resonating frequency fmrL = 5.297 GHz) with 51.31% reduction in size. Measured maximum peak gain for the impedance band is 2.04 dBi at 8.8 GHz and 1.96 dBi at fcp 7.52 GHz. The structure of the proposed antenna is extremely simple, quite small in size and its CP bands can be suitable for some C‐band and ITU (International Telecommunication Union)—8 GHz application.

ΔEITP is Now Ratified as ITU-R BT.2124—Is the Industry Ready to Move on from ΔE2000?

For many years, $\Delta E 2000$ has been considered the industry standard for estimating perceptual color differences and evaluating the color accuracy of display technologies. Recently, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) released Recommendation ITU-R BT.2124, which defines a new metric, $\Delta E_{\mathrm {ITP}}$ , as the new standard for evaluating perceptual color differences. Given this new recommendation, it is important that we become familiar with how $\Delta E_{\mathrm {ITP}}$ performs in practice and what can be expected when using it in existing workflows. A key part in this process is having an understanding of the properties of the color space that the color difference metric is based on and how that relates to the intended application of the metric. In this paper, we explore this relationship as it pertains to the $\Delta E2000$ and $\Delta E_{\mathrm {ITP}}$ color difference metrics, specifically in the context of evaluating color reproduction on self-luminous displays. Simulated data and measured data from calibrated displays are used to compare the performance of the metrics. Given that $\Delta E 2000$ and $\Delta E_{\mathrm {ITP}}$ are based on significantly different derivation principles, there are notable differences that must be acknowledged between these two metrics, especially as we transition between them. It is highly likely that $\Delta E 2000$ has been underpredicting perceptual color differences, significantly so when used for the evaluation of high dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut (WCG) displays.

Fast motion estimation algorithm for HEVC video codec

Subject of Research. The paper considers motion estimation as the most difficult and resource-consuming process in the high efficiency video coding standard. A fast algorithm is proposed that skips the fractional-pixel motion estimation. Method. The fractional-pixel motion estimation, including the half-pixel and quarter-pixel motion estimation, is used as a refinement process for integer-pixel motion estimation to provide better coding efficiency. The proposed algorithm involves skipping the fractional motion estimation for prediction blocks if the block with 2N × 2N dimension, which contains more information than the other block sizes, is encoded with integer motion estimation. The decision can also be made in reference frames, so that motion estimation at half- and/or quarter-pixel levels can be skipped to reduce encoding time. Main Results. The proposed algorithm is implemented in HM-16.20 reference software. Several test sequences recommended by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) are used to evaluate its effectiveness. Experimental results show that the proposed fast algorithm reduces the encoding time by an average of 64 % with a performance loss of less than 1 %. Practical Relevance. The proposed fast algorithm provides a reduction in coding time with a slight loss in performance. It can replace an existing unit in the H.265 standard speed up the video compression process.

Contour Mapping for Rain Rate and Rain Attenuation in Microwave and Millimetre Wave Earth-Satellite Link Design in Tropical Tanzania

Rain rate and rain attenuation predictions are vital in the analysis of the performance of earth-satellite link at higher frequencies beyond 10 GHz for satellite system planning. This study intended to address lack of rain attenuation profile based on local rainfall data collected from various parts of the country. A one-minute integration time rainfall rate used to estimate the rain-induced attenuation was obtained by converting the annual rainfall data collected for 40 years from 22 locations in Tanzania using a combination of Chebil and refined Moupfouma-Martin methods. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard was used to predict attenuation caused by one-minute rain rate. Contour maps for rain rate and rain attenuation were then generated over different percentages of times of 0.1% and 0.01% for both Ku and Ka-bands using the Kriging interpolation method in ArcGIS software. The maps show higher predicted rain rate values compared to the values given by the ITU in zones K, M and N. The developed maps can be used for rapid and precise estimation of link budget for satellite system design in Tanzania.
 Keywords: contour maps; one-minute; rain attenuation; integration time; Ku-band and Ka-bands