Equality of access and local loop unbundling in the UK broadband telecommunications market

The relationship between an incumbent telecommunications operator and those companies that access its network is often fraught. This is particularly true in respect of local loop unbundling (LLU), a key product in the broadband telecommunications market. OFCOM, the UK’s telecommunications regulator, recently conducted a major review of the industry that resulted in a new approach to tackling this relationship. This paper focuses on this new approach, which combined a new regulatory concept – equality of access – with the establishment of a mini-regulator focusing on local loop unbundling processes, and goes on to assess the extent to which the relationship has been improved.     

Practical Integrated Design Strategies for Opaque and All-Optical DWDM Networks: Optimization Models and Solution Procedures

Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) opaque networks use expensive optical/electrical/optical (O/E/O) conversion at each end of a fiber link. Several technological advances have been used in an attempt to reduce the O/E/O conversion cost component: improved optical amplifiers using distributed Raman amplification allow signals to traverse longer distances without amplification and/or regeneration; optical switches allow the signal to remain in the optical domain most of the time. Networks that use this equipment to eliminate some of the O/E/O conversions are called transparent or all-optical networks and benefit from reduced capital costs at the expense of operational costs and complexity in order to handle potential adjustments in traffic demand. In this investigation, we develop optimization-based algorithms for DWDM network design and traffic routing for both opaque and all-optical networks. This study compares the performance of AMPL/CPLEX implementations of both algorithms on realistically sized networks with up to 36 nodes and 67 links. In all test cases considered the all-optical network design is substantially less expensive than the traditional opaque network design with cost reductions in the range of 12% to 26%.     

Understanding China''s telecommunications policymaking and reforms: a tale of transition toward liberalization

By drawing on institutional theory and bargaining theory, this paper analyzes China's telecommunications policymaking mechanism, an important but less-explored issue. Key factors of shaping China's telecommunications policy are examined and the implementation of China's telecommunications policy in network development, competition, foreign direct investment, and regulatory restructuring is investigated. Finally, the impacts of China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) on its telecommunications reform and transition are discussed.     

Joint routing and dimensioning of optical burst switching networks

Existing methods for handling routing and dimensioning in dynamic WDM networks solve the two problems separately. The main drawback of this approach is that a global minimum cost solution cannot be guaranteed. Given that wavelengths are costly resources, determining the minimum network cost is of fundamental importance. We propose an approach which jointly solves the routing and dimensioning problems in optical burst switching (OBS) networks, guaranteeing a target blocking per connection. The method finds the set of routes and the number of wavelengths per network link that minimise the total network cost. To accomplish this, an integer linear programming problem is solved. The proposed method was applied to ring networks, where the optimal solution achieves a reduction in the network cost of 10–40% (for traffic loads <0.4, compared to solving both problems separately). In the case of mesh topologies, to reduce the computational complexity of the method, we applied a variation of it which achieves a local minimum. Even so, a reduction of 5–20% (for traffic loads <0.4) in the network cost was obtained. This ability to lower network cost could make the proposed method the best choice to date for dynamic network operators.     

Multicast wavelength assignment with sparse wavelength converters to maximize the network capacity using ILP formulation in WDM mesh networks

In general, multicast routing and wavelength assignment (MC-RWA) can be subdivided in routing and wavelength assignment issues in wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) mesh networks. Previous studies on WDM multicast have mainly focused on WDM multicast routing. The multicast wavelength assignment problem is studied in this paper. A unicast routing path can be established by a lightpath in an all-optical network. However, in the multicasting case, a multicast routing tree can be established by a single light-tree or several lightpaths, or a combination of several light-trees and lightpaths. We propose a wavelength assignment algorithm for finding an optimal combination of lightpaths and light-trees to construct a newly required multicast session. First of all, two cost functions are given to evaluate the establishing cost for each feasible wavelength, and then find a set of wavelengths that covers all destinations with the minimal cost using Integer Linear Programming (ILP) formulation. We focus on maximizing the total number of users served in a multicast session and the network capacity. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve system resource utilization and reduce the blocking probability compared with the First-Fit algorithm.This research was partially supported by the Grant of National Science Council, R.O.C. (NSC 94-2745-E-155-007-URD).     

A Lagrangean relaxation approach for QoS networks CFA problems

This paper is about design methodologies for packet networks, under the constraints of end-to-end quality of service (QoS) metrics. The network modeling also considers the dynamics of today's packet networks. We are particularly considering the problem of capacity and flow assignment where the routing assignments and capacities are considered to be decision variables. An efficient Lagrangean relaxation-based heuristic procedure is developed to find bounds and solutions for a corporate virtual private network (VPN), where the traffic is mostly based on TCP connections. Numerical results for a variety of problem instances are reported.     

Network selection in heterogeneous access networks simultaneously satisfying user profile and QoS

Multimode capability empowers mobile devices to select the appropriate network to meet the requirements of user and applications. However, network selection is a challenging task owing to heterogeneous nature of network access links. At the same time, pervasiveness of mobile communication networks accompanied by the advances in wireless devices has raised the user expectations of persistent service and quality. Therefore, it is important for a mobile device to take situation‐based and timely decisions while selecting an access network to ensure both user's and operator's demand. The existing standard, called IEEE 802.21 (media‐independent handover), considers mobile device signal‐strength parameter for network selection from a list of networks. This research has proposed a ranking algorithm to rank heterogeneous networks based on a set of parameters including user profile and QoS. It selects most suitable network owing to multiple handover scenarios. The simulation results have shown that the proposed scheme has successfully satisfied apparently the contradictory requirements related to user profiles and QoS simultaneously.     

LHAP: A lightweight network access control protocol for ad hoc networks

Most ad hoc networks do not implement any network access control, leaving these networks vulnerable to resource consumption attacks where a malicious node injects packets into the network with the goal of depleting the resources of the nodes relaying the packets. To thwart or prevent such attacks, it is necessary to employ authentication mechanisms to ensure that only authorized nodes can inject traffic into the network. We propose LHAP, a hop-by-hop authentication protocol for ad hoc networks. LHAP resides in between the network layer and the data link layer, thus providing a layer of protection that can prevent or thwart many attacks from happening, including outsider attacks and insider impersonation attacks. Our detailed performance evaluation shows that LHAP incurs small performance overhead and it also allows a tradeoff between security and performance.     

Robust scalable video multi-cast with multiple sources and inter-source network decoding in lossy networks

This paper presents a robust scalable video multi-cast scheme with source diversity and inter-source network decoding in lossy networks. The source diversity technique gives path diversity, providing a better quality of layered video transmission under hostile environments. For each source, an optimization formulation is set up to find the best transmission route of each transmitting video layer. The objectives of the formulation are to maximize the total information values of video layers reflecting the end-to-end video quality and transmission reliability. The source providing the best overall achievable data rate, which is the data rate destination can expect to receive from the transmission, is selected to be the primary source, while the rest will be secondary sources. When the Quality-of-Service (QoS) guarantees of some transmitting video layers cannot be fulfilled by the primary source, the secondary source with the best QoS parameters is selected to transmit the layers to destinations. The number of secondary sources used for transmissions is increased until the QoS guarantees of all transmitting video layers are satisfied or all network resources are utilized. Network coding is deployed to multi-cast video layers from the same source for efficient resource usage. Network coded data from different sources can be used to decode the transmitting video data. In other words, at each destination, it needs only a sufficient number of video packets from different sources to recover all transmitting video data. Simulations with different network topologies show the improvement in both objective and subjective qualities of layered video multi-cast under lossy environments.     

Comparison of ILP formulations for the RWA problem

We present a review of the integer linear programming (ILP) formulations that have been proposed for the routing and wavelength assignment problem in WDM optical networks assuming asymmetrical traffic. We show that all formulations proposed under asymmetrical traffic assumptions, both link and path formulations, are equivalent in terms of the upper bound value provided by the optimal solution of their linear programming relaxation, although their number of variables and constraints widely differ. We propose improvements for some of the formulations that result in further reductions in the number of variables and constraints.Under the objective of minimizing the blocking rate, we propose an experimental comparison of the best lower and upper bounds that are available. We then discuss the easiness of exact ILP solution depending on the formulations. We observe that LP relaxation bounds often provide solutions with a value very close to the optimal ILP one. We solve exactly for the first time several RWA (Routing and Wavelength Assignment) realistic instances, including those proposed by Krishnaswamy and Sivarajan [R. Krishnaswamy, K. Sivarajan, Algorithms for routing and wavelength assignment based on solutions of LP-relaxation, IEEE Communications Letters 5 (10) (2001) 435–437], with a proof of the optimality.     

Modeling and performance analysis of IP access interface in optical transmission networks with packet switching

The article analyzes the influence of the Internet Protocol (IP) access interface on the packet loss probability and delay times in the optical packet switched network. The network and node model have been proposed, and the structure of the IP access interface, including assembler and holder, have been included in the analysis. It has been shown that the increase of the maximum optical packet sizes, as well as use of the holding feature as contention resolution mechanism, decrease the packet loss probability, but introduce delays at the optical network access points. Modeling and analysis were based on the discrete event simulation assuming self-similar traffic sources. IP packet lengths were modeled using empirical data. This work has been conducted while the author was affiliated with the Telecommunication Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL-STI-ITOP-TCOM), Lausanne, Switzerland     

虚拟网络功能资源容量自适应调整方法

为了实现网络功能虚拟化平台中物理资源的动态按需分配,该文提出一种虚拟网络功能资源容量自适应调整方法.该方法首先利用长短期记忆网络预测平台流量的变化趋势,然后结合流量预测结果设计了一种基于多层前馈神经网络的虚拟网络功能资源需求预测方法,最后根据资源需求预测结果,设计了一种基于动态编码遗传算法的虚拟网络功能动态部署方法,实...     

基于最小化平均分组跳的波长路由环网逻辑拓扑设计

本文提出了用混合整数线性规则（ＭＩＬＰ）进行波长路由环网的逻辑拓扑设计。对于给定的通信流量矩阵,其目标函数是最小经平均分组跳。以双向环网为例,对于不同网络结构参数的情况,进行了计算分析并给出了数值结果。对双向环网和单向环网的网络性能进行了比较分析。     

Minimum-energy broadcast and multicast in wireless networks: An integer programming approach and improved heuristic algorithms

Both integer programming models and heuristic algorithms have been proposed for finding minimum-energy broadcast and multicast trees in wireless ad hoc networks. Among heuristic algorithms, the broadcast/multicast incremental power (BIP/MIP) algorithm is most known. The theoretical performance of BIP/MIP has been quantified in several studies. To assess the empirical performance of BIP/MIP and other heuristic algorithms, it is necessary to compute an optimal tree or a very good lower bound of the optimum. In this paper, we present an integer programming approach as well as improved heuristic algorithms. Our integer programming approach comprises a novel integer model and a relaxation scheme. Unlike previously proposed models, the continuous relaxation of our model leads to a very sharp lower bound of the optimum. Our relaxation scheme allows for performance evaluation of heuristics without having to compute optimal trees. Our contributions to heuristic algorithms consist of the power-improving algorithm successive power adjustment (SPA), and improved time complexity of some previously suggested algorithms. We report extensive numerical experiments. Algorithm SPA finds better solutions in comparison to a host of other algorithms. Moreover, the integer programming approach shows that trees found by algorithm SPA are optimal or near-optimal.     

Electrical and optical clock and data recovery in optical access networks: a comparative study

Clock and data recovery (CDR) is an essential part in high‐speed telecommunication systems. The CDR is used to extract the clock and re‐time the received data, which allows a synchronous operation to recover the transmitted signal. In optical access networks, electrical CDR or optical CDR implementations can be used. However, there are no clear guidelines or recommendations on which CDR implementation should be adopted for better performance. These missing clear recommendations are because the electrical CDR requires electronics design expertise whereas the optical CDR requires optical design expertise. Consequently, in this paper, an all‐digital CDR, designed and implemented on the field‐programmable gate array platform, and an optical CDR, developed by using fiber Bragg grating technology on the OptiSystem platform, are presented. Furthermore, the integration of these 2 CDR implementations with the optical access network is implemented, and their performance is evaluated for various transmission rates and communication distances. Finally, a comparative study in terms of the bit error rate between the all‐digital CDR and the optical CDR is presented.     

Exact solution of a bandpass matching problem

This paper discusses the exact design of a bandpass matching circuit for transmission of power from a source of internal resistanceR ₁ to a load of resistanceR ₂. The design is obtained in terms of an unknownQ factor, the value of which is to be determined by solving a cubic equation.     

On the design of Robust‐WDM local area networks

Robust wavelength division multiplexing (Robust‐WDM) is a proposal to realize cost‐effective WDM local area networks (LANs) which can get around the expensive need for laser wavelength stabilization. The type of these networks that relies on an access protocol with aperiodic reservations and lenient‐token‐passing based control channel (the AR/LTP protocol) is promising. We look at the deployment of the AR/LTP analytical model in designing this type of network. The model is used to predict the effect of component and network parameters on the waiting time characteristics of the network. An increase in node operation times (i.e. receiver response time, transmitter select time and reservation period) would result in increasing the average waiting time of a connection request, but the waiting time is more sensitive to the physical span of the network and its size. It is also observed that increasing the inter‐reservation threshold may result in little increase in waiting time up to some limit beyond which delay increases rapidly. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

城域网和接入网发展需要的低水峰单模光纤

密集波分复用(DWDM)的出现扩大了长途传输网的容量,但是DWDM技术的复杂性和使用了昂贵的器件,限制了DWDM在城域网的应用.最新研制的光纤,其在整个宽工作带,包括在(1 380±3) nm上都具有低水峰.低水峰光纤与粗波分复用(CWDM)系统比用标准单模光纤(SMF)的同一系统所用的信道间隔宽33%.经过恶劣的环境试验证明,低水峰光纤具有稳定的抗氢气引起的衰减性能,可确保现场安装的低水峰光纤光缆长期可靠地工作.由于低水峰光纤具有优异的弯曲敏感性,使其与最近研制的宽带接入技术,即所谓的光纤到驻地(FTTP)完全相适应.     

An integrated view on monitoring and compensation for dynamic optical networks: from management to physical layer

A vertical perspective, ranging from management and routing to physical layer options, concerning dynamic network monitoring and compensation of impairments (M&C), is given. Feasibility, reliability, and performance improvements on reconfigurable transparent networks are expected to arise from the consolidated assessment of network management and control specifications, as a more accurate evaluation of available M&C techniques. In the network layer, physical parameters aware algorithms are foreseen to pursue reliable network performance. In the physical layer, some new M&C methods were developed and rating of the state-of-the-art reported in literature is given. Optical monitoring implementation and viability is discussed.