To achieve a cost-effective network deployment, employing state-of-art technical advances provides a practical and effective way to enhance system performance and quality of service provisioning. Cooperative transmission has been recognized as one of the most effective paradigms to achieve higher system performance in terms of lower bit-error rate, higher throughput, larger coverage, more efficient energy utilization, and higher network reliability. This dissertation studies the location planning for the deployment of broadband access networks and explores the great potential of cooperative transmission in the context of single-cell cooperative relaying and multi-cell cooperative transmission, respectively. The placement problem is investigated in two categories of network deployment environment, i.e., an existing wireless access network and a perspective broadband access network, respectively. In an existing wireless access network, to solve some practical problems such as the requirements of capacity enhancement and coverage extension, relay stations (RSs) are introduced in the network architecture. We propose two optimization frameworks with the design objectives of maximizing cell capacity and minimizing number of RSs for deployment, respectively. Mathematical formulations are provided to precisely capture the characteristics of the placement problems. The corresponding solution algorithms are developed to obtain the optimal (or near-optimal) results in polynomial time. Numerical analysis and case studies are conducted to validate the performance benefits due to RS placement and the computation efficiency of the proposed algorithms. To deploy a new metropolitan-area broadband access network, we explore the integration of passive optical network (PON) and wireless cooperative networks (WCN) under the multi-cell cooperative transmission technology. An optimization framework is provided to solve the problem of dimensioning and site planning. The issues of node placement, BS-user association, wireless bandwidth and power breakdown assignment are jointly considered in a single stage to achieve better performance. We also propose a solution to the complex optimization problem based on decomposition and linear approximation. Numerical analysis and case studies are conducted to verify the proposed framework. The results demonstrate the performance gains and economic benefits. Given a set of network parameters, the proposed optimization frameworks and solutions proposed in this dissertation can provide design guidelines for practical network deployment and cost estimations. And the constructed broadband access networks show a more cost-effective deployment by taking advantage of the cooperative transmission technology.

To achieve a cost-effective network deployment, employing state-of-art technical advances provides a practical and effective way to enhance system performance and quality of service provisioning. Cooperative transmission has been recognized as one of the most effective paradigms to achieve higher system performance in terms of lower bit-error rate, higher throughput, larger coverage, more efficient energy utilization, and higher network reliability. This dissertation studies the location planning for the deployment of broadband access networks and explores the great potential of cooperative transmission in the context of single-cell cooperative relaying and multi-cell cooperative transmission, respectively. The placement problem is investigated in two categories of network deployment environment, i.e., an existing wireless access network and a perspective broadband access network, respectively. In an existing wireless access network, to solve some practical problems such as the requirements of capacity enhancement and coverage extension, relay stations (RSs) are introduced in the network architecture. We propose two optimization frameworks with the design objectives of maximizing cell capacity and minimizing number of RSs for deployment, respectively. Mathematical formulations are provided to precisely capture the characteristics of the placement problems. The corresponding solution algorithms are developed to obtain the optimal (or near-optimal) results in polynomial time. Numerical analysis and case studies are conducted to validate the performance benefits due to RS placement and the computation efficiency of the proposed algorithms. To deploy a new metropolitan-area broadband access network, we explore the integration of passive optical network (PON) and wireless cooperative networks (WCN) under the multi-cell cooperative transmission technology. An optimization framework is provided to solve the problem of dimensioning and site planning. The issues of node placement, BS-user association, wireless bandwidth and power breakdown assignment are jointly considered in a single stage to achieve better performance. We also propose a solution to the complex optimization problem based on decomposition and linear approximation. Numerical analysis and case studies are conducted to verify the proposed framework. The results demonstrate the performance gains and economic benefits. Given a set of network parameters, the proposed optimization frameworks and solutions proposed in this dissertation can provide design guidelines for practical network deployment and cost estimations. And the constructed broadband access networks show a more cost-effective deployment by taking advantage of the cooperative transmission technology.

In recent years, the ever-increasing environmental friendliness concern has made energy efficiency in telecom networks as an important theme in their operations. Meanwhile, mission-critical (MC) services and systems (such as healthcare, police, and firefighting) have been acquiring special attention from telecom designers and operators. The currently deployed MC network technologies are indigent in terms of bandwidth capacity, and thus they are not able to support the emerging MC multimedia applications. Therefore in this thesis, we first explore the possibility of provisioning the MC services over the integration of fiber-wireless (FiWi) technologies, which has been considered as a promising candidate for the deployment of high-speed and mobile broadband access networks. We then investigate the energy efficiency problem in the FiWi integration, which consists of WiMAX in the wireless plane, and of Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) - the most popular variant of the next-generation PON (NG-PON) technology, in the optical plane. In WiMAX, the energy saving protocol has been extensively investigated and standardized. Conversely, it has been recently studied in NG-PON, which currently consumes the least power among all the high-speed access networks. However, NG-PON has notably matured in the past few years and is envisioned to massively evolve in the near future. This trend will increase the power requirements of NG-PON and make it no longer coveted. Therefore we address the energy efficiency problem in NG-PON. For each of our contributions, we conduct extensive simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed solutions.

In recent years, the ever-increasing environmental friendliness concern has made energy efficiency in telecom networks as an important theme in their operations. Meanwhile, mission-critical (MC) services and systems (such as healthcare, police, and firefighting) have been acquiring special attention from telecom designers and operators. The currently deployed MC network technologies are indigent in terms of bandwidth capacity, and thus they are not able to support the emerging MC multimedia applications. Therefore in this thesis, we first explore the possibility of provisioning the MC services over the integration of fiber-wireless (FiWi) technologies, which has been considered as a promising candidate for the deployment of high-speed and mobile broadband access networks. We then investigate the energy efficiency problem in the FiWi integration, which consists of WiMAX in the wireless plane, and of Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) - the most popular variant of the next-generation PON (NG-PON) technology, in the optical plane. In WiMAX, the energy saving protocol has been extensively investigated and standardized. Conversely, it has been recently studied in NG-PON, which currently consumes the least power among all the high-speed access networks. However, NG-PON has notably matured in the past few years and is envisioned to massively evolve in the near future. This trend will increase the power requirements of NG-PON and make it no longer coveted. Therefore we address the energy efficiency problem in NG-PON. For each of our contributions, we conduct extensive simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed solutions.

The use of peer-to-peer (P2P) applications is growing dramatically, particularly for sharing content such as video, audio, and software. The traffic generated by these applications represents a large proportion of Internet traffic. For the broadband access network providers P2P traffic presents several problems. This thesis identifies the performance and business issues that P2P traffic has on broadband access networks employing the McCircuit separation technique. A mechanism for managing P2P within the access network is proposed. The P2P diversion algorithm aims to manage P2P traffic within the access network based on layer 2 and layer 3 information without employing intrusive layer 7 traffic detection. To solve the contention problem experienced by best effort traffic in the access network, a solution based on the diversion algorithm and on a QoS based traffic classification scheme is proposed. A business model defining the business roles and pricing schemes is presented based on the features offered by the P2P diversion algorithm introducing new opportunities for gaining revenue from P2P traffic for the network service providers and providing better services to users. / Användningen av peer-to-peer (P2P) applikationer ökar dramatiskt, speciellt för spridningen av video, musik, och mjukvara. Trafiken som skapas av dessa program utgör en stor del of trafiken på Internet. För bredbandsaccess operatörer ställer P2P trafik många problem. I detta examensarbete så identifieras både de egenskaper och affärsaspekter som P2P trafiken har på ett bredbandsaccessnät som använder McCircuit som seprationsmekanism för trafiken mellan användare och en mekanism, "peer-to-peer diversion mechansim" (P2PDA), för att hantera P2P trafiken i ett McCircuit baserat accessnät beskrivs. P2PDA algoritmen hanterar P2P trafik i accessnätet baserat på lager 2 och lager 3 information utan att ta hänsyn till applikationslagret (Lager 7). För att få en bra fördelning mellan best-effort trafik och prioriterad trafik så föreslås en lösning baserad på kombinationen av P2PDA och QoS baserad trafik klassificering. Slutligen så defineras en affärsmodell där affärsroller och olika varianter på prissättning för P2P diskuteras baserad på de egenskaper som den förslagna algoritmen medför och den ekonomiska vinst som denna lösning medger.

Due to the rapid growth of mobile networks, network operators need to expand their coverage and capacity. Addressing these two needs is challenging. One factor is the requirement for cost-efficient transport via heterogeneous networks. In order to achieve this goal, Internet connectivity is considered a cost-efficient transport option by many operators for small cell backhaul. This thesis project investigates if a small cell network's requirements can be fulfilled by utilizing Internet connectivity for backhaul. In order to answer this question several measurements have been made to assess different aspect of live networks and compare them with the network operator's requirements. Different measurement protocols are utilized to evaluate some of the key network characteristics, such as throughput, jitter, packet loss, and delay. These measurement protocols are described in this thesis. Moreover, improving the bandwidth available in real-time (BART) measurement method was one of the main achievements of this thesis project. Evaluation of the measurement results indicates that fiber based access together with Internet connectivity would be the best and cheapest solution as a backhaul for small cell network in comparison with almost all of the other types of broadband access technologies. It should be noted that asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) and cable- TV access networks proved to be unable to meet the requirements for small cell backhaul. This project gives a clear picture of the current broadband access network infrastructure's attributes and highlights the possibility of reducing backhaul costs by using broadband Internet connectivity as a backhaul transport option. / Dagens snabbt ökande mobilia datatrafik gör att nätverksoperatörerna behöver utöka både täckning och kapacitet hos sina nät. Att tillgodose båda dessa behov är en utmaning. Ett krav är kostnadseffektiva transporter via heterogena nätverk. För att uppfylla detta utreder många operatörer möjligheten att använda Internet-baserad returtrafik (backhaul) för småceller. Detta examensarbete utreder huruvida kraven för småceller kan uppfyllas genom att utnyttja en Internet-baserad returtrafik. För att kunna besvara denna fråga har flera mätningar utförts i syfte att bedöma olika aspekter av verkliga nätverk och jämföra dem med nätverksoperatörens krav. Olika mätprotokoll utnyttjas för att utvärdera några av de viktigaste egenskaperna hos nätet, såsom hastighet, jitter, paketförluster och förseningar. Dessa mätprotokoll beskrivs i dettta examensarbete. Dessutom/Vidare har metoden "bandbredd tillgänglig för realtidsmätningar" bandwidth available in real-time (BART) förbättrats. Utvärdering av mätresultaten visar att fiberbaserad access tillsammans med Internetanslutning är den bästa och billigaste returtrafiklösningen för småcellsnätverk för nästan alla olika typerna av bredbandsteknik, förutom för (asymmetric digital subscriber line) ADSL och kabelaccessnät. Detta projekt ger en tydlig bild av den aktuella nätinfrastrukturens egenskaper och möjligheten att reducera returtrafik-kostnaderna genom att använd bredbandsanslutning med Internet som transport kostnader.