Thesis Format
Monograph
Degree
Master of Engineering Science
Program
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Supervisor
Nikan, Soodeh
2nd Supervisor
Shami, Abdallah
Joint Supervisor
Abstract
Forecasting of the telecommunication traffic is the foundation for enabling intelligent management features as cellular technologies evolve toward fifth-generation (5G) technology. Since a significant number of network slices are deployed over a 5G network, it is crucial to evaluate the resource requirements of each network slice and how they evolve over time. Mobile network carriers should investigate strategies for network optimization and resource allocation due to the steadily increasing mobile traffic. Network management and optimization strategies will be improved if mobile operators know the cellular traffic demand at a specific time and location beforehand. The most effective techniques nowadays devote computing resources in a dynamic manner based on mobile traffic prediction by machine learning techniques. However, the accuracy of the predictive models is critically important. In this work, we concentrate on forecasting the cellular traffic for the following 24 hours by employing temporal and spatiotemporal techniques, with the goal of improving the efficiency and accuracy of mobile traffic prediction. In fact, a set of real-world mobile traffic data is used to assess the efficacy of multiple neural network models in predicting cellular traffic in this study. The fully connected sequential network (FCSN), one-dimensional convolutional neural network (1D-CNN), single-shot learning LSTM (SS-LSTM), and autoregressive LSTM (AR-LSTM) are proposed in the temporal analysis. A 2-dimensional convolutional LSTM (2D-ConvLSTM) model is also proposed in the spatiotemporal framework to forecast cellular traffic over the next 24 hours. The 2D-ConvLSTM model, which can capture spatial relations via convolution operations and temporal dynamics through the LSTM network, is used after creating geographic grids. The results reveal that FCSN and 1D-CNN have comparable performance in univariate temporal analysis. However, 1D-CNN is a smaller network with less number of parameters. One of the other benefits of the proposed 1D-CNN is having less complexity and execution time for predicting traffic. Also, 2D-ConvLSTM outperforms temporal models. The 2D-ConvLSTM model can predict the next 24-hour traffic of internet, sms, and call with root mean square error (RMSE) values of 75.73, 26.60, and 15.02 and mean absolute error (MAE) values of 52.73, 14.42, and 8.98, respectively, which shows better performance compared to the state of the art methods due to capturing variables dependencies. It can be argued that this network has the capability to be utilized in network management and resource allocation in practical applications.
Summary for Lay Audience
Forecasting telecommunication traffic is significantly important in providing intelligent management features as cellular technologies progress toward the fifth generation (5G) technology. It is critical to assess the resources need for each network slice and how they change over time since a substantial number of network slices are deployed over a 5G network. If mobile operators become aware of the cellular traffic demand at a certain time and location in advance, network management and optimization strategies will be more effective. The most efficient methods now dynamically allocate computer resources based on machine learning technology that forecasts mobile traffic. However, the accuracy of the forecasting model is vital. In this study, we focus on cellular traffic forecasting for the next day by using temporal and spatiotemporal approaches. In order to evaluate the performance of the various neural network models to forecast cellular traffic, a collection of real-world mobile traffic data is utilized in this study. It should be mentioned that the proposed spatiotemporal network has the capability to be used practically for resource allocation and network management.
Recommended Citation
Mohseni, Maryam, "AI-Based Traffic Forecasting in 5G Network" (2022). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 8707.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/8707
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.