09 ... 2025
14:00 Doctoral defense IC3 building auditorium
Topic on
Overload Management and Resource Allocation Techniques for Massive Machine-Type Communication in 3GPP Access Networks
Student
Tiago Pedroso da Cruz de Andrade
Advisor / Teacher
Nelson Luis Saldanha da Fonseca
Brief summary
We are witnessing a remarkable expansion in the interconnection of smart electronic devices, driven by the Internet of Things (IoT), which is emerging as a fundamental pillar in building a connected society, permeating various daily activities. Characterized by the proliferation of devices equipped with sensing, computing, and communication capabilities, the IoT relies on wide-area network connectivity as one of its key elements. In this context, cellular access technologies, with their support for massive machine-type communications (mMTC), are a promising solution. However, the sporadic and highly synchronized nature of small packet data traffic generated by a large number of devices can overload the Radio Access Network (RAN). This critical condition can lead to a shortage of essential radio resources, especially those related to the medium access process, such as contention, control, and data transmission capabilities. The result is an increase in the number of signaling collisions, control message blocking, and data collisions, compromising Quality of Service (QoS) provisioning, network efficiency, access latency, and device energy consumption. This thesis proposes innovative Medium Access Control (MAC) techniques to mitigate the challenges inherent in supporting mMTC in cellular access networks. The thesis' contribution includes several efficient solutions to minimize the impact of Machine-Type Communication (MTC) devices on the random access process. A set of solutions for efficient allocation of control resources is introduced, ensuring support for QoS and access differentiation. A comprehensive model for resource management, control message prioritization policies, and optimized scheduling algorithms are proposed. Results are validated through a rigorous evaluation of the proposed mechanisms for cellular access networks with mMTC traffic, considering the complete resource allocation process and adopting realistic assumptions in the random access process. The results demonstrate that the techniques proposed in this thesis not only guarantee QoS for mMTC traffic but also significantly reduce latency, resource utilization, energy consumption, and collisions during the access process. Rapid and widespread adoption of these solutions requires only simplified software updates to existing network technologies, enabling their widespread deployment to mitigate typical resource management challenges in IoT over cellular networks.
Examination Board
Headlines:
| Nelson Luis Saldanha da Fonseca | IC / UNICAMP |
| Juliano Araujo Wickboldt | INF / UFRGS |
| Luis Henrique Maciel Kosmalski Costa | DEL/UFRJ |
| Rafael Lopes Gomes | CCT / UECE |
| Pedro Henrique Gomes da Silva | Ericsson |
Substitutes:
| Edmundo Roberto Mauro Madeira | IC / UNICAMP |
| Miguel Elias Mitre Campista | DEL/UFRJ |
| Célio Vinicius Neves de Albuquerque | IC / UFF |