This thesis is concerned with the development of new mathematical models for the IEEE 802.11??s access mechanisms, with a particular focus on DCF and EDCA. Accurate mathematical models for the DCF and EDCA access mechanisms provide many benefits, such as improved performance analysis, easier network capacity planning, and robust network design. A feature that permeates the work presented in this thesis is the application of our new models to network environments where both saturated and non-saturated traffic sources are present. The scenario in which multiple traffic sources are present is more technically challenging, but provides for a more realistic setting. Our first contribution is the development of a new Markov model for non-saturated DCF in order to predict the network throughput. This model takes into account several details of the protocol that have been hitherto neglected. In addition, we apply a novel treatment of the packet service time within our model. We show how the inclusion of these effects provides more accurate predictions of network throughput than earlier works. Our second contribution is the development of a new analytical model for EDCA, again in order to predict network throughput. Our new EDCA model is based on a replacement of the normal AIFS parameter of EDCA with a new parameter more closely associated with DCF. This novel procedure allows EDCA to be viewed as a modified multi-mode version of DCF. Our third contribution is the simultaneous application of our new Markov models to both the non-saturated and the saturated regime. Hitherto, network throughput predictions for these regimes have required completely separate mathematical models. The convergence property of our model in the two regimes provides a new method to estimate the network capacity of the network. Our fourth contribution relates to predictions for the multimedia capacity of 802.11 networks. Our multimedia capacity analysis, which is based on modifications to our Markov model, is new in that it can be applied to a broad range of quality of service requirements. Finally, we highlight the use of our analysis in the context of emerging location-enabled networks.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Computing and Engineering. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2004. / "A dissertation in engineering and computer networking." Advisor: Ghulam Chaudhry. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed Feb. 22, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-157). Online version of the print edition.

Current telecommunication infrastructure is undergoing significant changes. Such changes involve the type of traffic traveling through the network as well as the requirements imposed by the new traffic mix (e.g. strict delay control and low end-to-end delay). In this new networking scenario, the current infrastructure, which remained almost unchanged for the last several decades, is struggling to adapt, and its limitations in terms of power consumption, scalability, and economical viability have become more evident. In this dissertation we explore the potential advantages of using periodic data structures to handle efficiently bandwidth-intensive transactions, which constitute a significant portion of today's network traffic. We start by implementing an approach that can work as a standalone system aiming to provide the same advantages promised by all-optical approaches such as OBS and OFS. We show that our approach is able to provide similar advantages (e.g. energy efficiency, link utilization, and low computational load for the network hardware) while avoiding the drawbacks (e.g. use of optical buffers, inefficient resource utilization, and costly deployment), using commercially available hardware. Aware of the issues of large scale hardware redeployment, we adapt our approach to work within the current transport network architecture, reusing most of the hardware and protocols that are already in place, offering a more gradual evolutionary path, while retaining the advantages of our standalone system. We then apply our approach to Data Center Networks (DCNs), showing its ability to achieve significant improvements in terms of network performance stability, predictability, performance isolation, agility, and goodput with respect to popular DCN approaches. We also show our approach is able to work in concert with many proposed and deployed DCN architectures, providing DCNs with a simple, efficient, and versatile protocol to handle bandwidth-intensive applications within the DCs. / Graduate

Thesis (MScEng)--University of Stellenbosch, 2003. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is to investigate the implementation of a high-speed serial bus based on the IEEE Std 1394-1995 specification for use in a microsatellite. Earth observation microsatellites carry imagers (or cameras) that take photographs of the earth. Each photograph generates a large volume of digital data that has to be transferred to either a storage device, a RF transmission unit or a video processing device. Traditionally, the connection between such systems were dedicated serial bus systems that were custom designed for just that purpose. This thesis will investigate the the implementation of a generic alternative to such a custom serial bus. The IEEE 1394 serial bus will allow many devices and subsystems to be connected to the serial bus and will allow these different subsystems to exchange data between each other. As an example implementation, a real-time video link between two points using the IEEE 1394 serial bus will be developed. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis is om ondersoek in te stel na die bou van 'n hoëspoed seriebus vir gebruik in 'n mikrosatelliet gebaseer is op die IEEE Std 1394-1995 spesifikasie. Aardobservasie-mikrosatelliete bevat kameras wat fotos van die aarde neem. Elke foto genereer groot volumes digitale data wat na óf 'n massastoor, óf 'n RF-sender, óf 'n video-verwerkingseenheid gestuur word. Tradisioneel is elkeen van hierdie verbindings met 'n toegewyde seriebus gedoen wat spesiaal vir daardie doel gemaak is. Hierdie tesis het dit ten doelom ondersoek in te stel na 'n generiese alternatief vir hierdie toegewyde seriële busse. Die IEEE 1394 seriebus sal toelaat dat verskeie eenhede en substelsels aan mekaar gekoppel kan word en dat hulle data tussen mekaar kan uitruil. Ter demonstrasie sal 'n intydse videoskakel ontwerp word wat die IEEE 1394 seriebus gebruik om data tussen twee punte oor te dra.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In this thesis the design and testing of the baseband components of a modem intended for use as a telemetry and control link for a low earth orbit satellite is presented. This includes parts of the physical layer as well as a basic data-link layer. Binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) is used as the modulation scheme and is realised by making use of software defined radio on a standard x86 computer with digital to analogue and analogue to digital converters that use a universal serial bus (USB) connection. The data-link layer makes use of a basic framing scheme and provides bit synchronisation, an automatic repeat request (ARQ) system and Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem (BCH) forward error correction (FEC). The ARQ system ensures that data is delivered reliably and the FEC improves the system’s performance in noisy conditions. A prototype system was developed to test the performance of the individual layers as well as the system as a whole. For testing purposes the Linux Internet Protocol (IP) stack is used as higher network layers. Radio frequency hardware developed by Verschaeve [1] modulates the signal away from baseband, transmits it over the air and receives it. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis word die ontwerp en toetsing van die basisband komponente van ‘n modem, bedoel vir gebruik op ‘n satelliet in ‘n lae-aarde wentelbaan, bespreek. Die ontwerp sluit dele van die fisiese vlak sowel as ‘n verbindingsvlak in. Binêre faseskuifsleuteling word gebruik as die modulasieskema en word verwesenlik deur gebruik te maak van sagteware gedefinieerde radio. Dit voer uit op ’n standaard x86 rekenaar wat deur middel van USB gekoppel is aan ’n digitaal-na-analoog- en ’n analoog-na-digitaal-omsetter. Die verbindingsvlak het ‘n eenvoudige ramingskema. Dit voorsien bis sinkronisasie, die hersending van verlore rame en Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghem (BCH) voorwaartse foutverbetering. Die hersending van verlore rame verseker dat data betroubaar oorgedra kan word en foutverbetering verbeter die stelsel se vermoëns in ruiserige toestande. ‘n Prototipe stelsel is ontwikkel om die vermoëns van die individuele vlakke, sowel as die stelsel as ’n geheel, te toets. Tydens toetsing is die Linux Internet Protokol stapel gebruik vir die hoër netwerk vlakke. Radio komponente wat deur Verschaeve [1] ontwikkel was is gebruik om die sein uit te saai en te ontvang.

Orientadores: Michel Daoud Yacoub, Jose Candido Silveira Santos Filho / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-12T20:13:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BarrosTercius_Hermano_M.pdf: 3346341 bytes, checksum: 1398a699b8f875964e6bee207c3bf263 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: Esta dissertação provê uma comparação detalhada entre diversas distribuições de desvanecimento de curto prazo, que são trabalhadas de forma a propiciar seus melhores ajustes para dados obtidos a partir de medições de campo. Tais distribuições incluem aquelas já bem conhecidas na literatura - como Rayleigh, Rice, Nakagami, Hoyt e Weibull - bem como dois modelos propostos recentemente, especificamente k-µ e h-µ. Primeiramente, é apresentado um embasamento teórico sobre estas distribuições. Em seguida, são fornecidos todos os detalhes da construção e dos ajustes dos parâmetros do aparato de medições, bem como os procedimentos de coleta dos dados. Então, os diversos resultados das medições são analisados. As análises são baseadas em um vasto espaço amostral, englobando 300 ambientes investigados. Sob a óptica de uma de jornada de medição tão ampla, é possível recomendar o uso adequado destas distribuições recém-propostas, nomeadamente k-µ e h-µ. Pelos resultados obtidos, pode-se constatar que uma melhora significativa no processo de ajuste de curva é obtida com a utilização destas distribuições, as quais podem ser úteis para uma modelagem adequada do ambiente de propagação das comunicações sem fio / Abstract: This thesis provides a thorough comparison among the various short term fading distributions, which are handled so as to give their best fit over data obtained from field measurements. Such distributions include those already well known in the literature - namely Rayleigh, Rice, Nakagami, Hoyt e Weibull - as well as two recently proposed models, namely k-µ and h-µ. Firstly, some theoretical background concerning these distributions are given. Then, the details of the construction and required parameters adjustments of the measurement apparatus as well as the data collection procedures are shown. Then, the various results of the measurements are analysed. The analyses are based on an ample sample space, encompassing 300 surveying sites. In the view of such a vast measurement campaign, it may be possible to recommend the adequate use of those newly proposed distributions, namely k-µ e h-µ. From our results, it is possible to see that a significant improvement in the curve fitting process can be seen with the use of these distributions, which may be useful for the adequate modelling of the wireless communications propagation environement / Mestrado / Telecomunicações e Telemática / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Orientadores: Raul Vinhas Ribeiro, Maria Silvina Medrano / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-08T21:31:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Giansante_Moacir_M.pdf: 31760626 bytes, checksum: 1c3f355aabddb68180939401b269973f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / Resumo: Este estudo apresenta uma metodologia para calcular os custos decorrentes de projetos de universalização de serviços de telecomunicações, conforme estabelece a legislação brasileira, denominados como custos líquidos em outras legislações. Tal conceito é baseado na obtenção dos custos evitáveis e para seu cálculo, os custos atribuídos ao cumprimento das obrigações devem ser alocados de forma a guardar relação com a atividade que o gerou bem como com a quantidade de serviços/produtos produzidos. A metodologia também deve ser capaz de capturar economias de escala e de escopo decorrentes de compartilhamento de recursos e de otimização das capacidades instaladas. Por isso, propõe-se um modelo que combine os conceitos de custos incrementais e de custos prospectivos de longo prazo de forma flexível e que permita a análise de diferentes projetos de universalização / Abstract: This study presents a methodology to calculate the net costs resulting from telecommunications universal services, in accordance with Brazilian legislation. Such a concept is based on the estimation of the avoidable costs due to universal obligations. In order to proceed with the calculations, the costs attributed to these obligations should be allocated to guard relation with the activity that generated them as well as with the quantity of service/productsproduced. ,The methodology also should be capable of capture scale and scope economies due to shared resources or capacities optimization. Theproposed model combines the concepts of incremental costs andforward-looking costs in aflexible manner to enable the analysis of different projects regarding universal service / Mestrado / Automação / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica

Speech separation has long been an active research topic in the signal processing community with its importance in a wide range of applications such as hearable devices and telecommunication systems. It not only serves as a fundamental problem for all higher-level speech processing tasks such as automatic speech recognition, natural language understanding, and smart personal assistants, but also plays an important role in smart earphones and augmented and virtual reality devices. With the recent progress in deep neural networks, the separation performance has been significantly advanced by various new problem definitions and model architectures. The most widely-used approach in the past years performs separation in time-frequency domain, where a spectrogram or a time-frequency representation is first calculated from the mixture signal and multiple time-frequency masks are then estimated for the target sources. The masks are applied on the mixture's time-frequency representation to extract the target representations, and then operations such as inverse short-time Fourier transform is utilized to convert them back to waveforms. However, such frequency-domain methods may have difficulties in modeling the phase spectrogram as the conventional time-frequency masks often only consider the magnitude spectrogram. Moreover, the training objectives for the frequency-domain methods are typically also in frequency-domain, which may not be inline with widely-used time-domain evaluation metrics such as signal-to-noise ratio and signal-to-distortion ratio. The problem formulation of time-domain, end-to-end speech separation naturally arises to tackle the disadvantages in the frequency-domain systems. The end-to-end speech separation networks take the mixture waveform as input and directly estimate the waveforms of the target sources. Following the general pipeline of conventional frequency-domain systems which contains a waveform encoder, a separator, and a waveform decoder, time-domain systems can be design in a similar way while significantly improves the separation performance. In this dissertation, I focus on multiple aspects in the general problem formulation of end-to-end separation networks including the system designs, model architectures, and training objectives. I start with a single-channel pipeline, which we refer to as the time-domain audio separation network (TasNet), to validate the advantage of end-to-end separation comparing with the conventional time-frequency domain pipelines. I then move to the multi-channel scenario and introduce the filter-and-sum network (FaSNet) for both fixed-geometry and ad-hoc geometry microphone arrays. Next I introduce methods for lightweight network architecture design that allows the models to maintain the separation performance while using only as small as 2.5% model size and 17.6% model complexity. After that, I look into the training objective functions for end-to-end speech separation and describe two training objectives for separating varying numbers of sources and improving the robustness under reverberant environments, respectively. Finally I take a step back and revisit several problem formulations in end-to-end separation pipeline and raise more questions in this framework to be further analyzed and investigated in future works.

Social regulation, as applied specifically to the telecommunications sector, is a new phenomenon in most countries. It was only in the 1960s, with the establishment of regulatory agencies, that social regulation became important. The regulators are mandated by their country’s legislative and regulatory frameworks to meet social objectives. This study examined the extent to which ICASA protects consumers as it is mandated to do by the Electronic Communications Act 36 of 2005. The study found that ICASA has adopted mechanisms of protecting consumers, namely by conducting awareness campaigns, road shows and workshops in all the nine provinces of South Africa in order to educate and inform consumers about the procedures of lodging complaints and to make them aware of their rights. However, despite ICASA’s endeavours to ensure consumer protection, most consumers are neither aware of their rights and how to efficiently exercise them nor the procedures of lodging complaints. ICASA protects consumers to a reasonable extent but it can do more when the enduser and subscriber service charter regulations are finalised. / Communication Science / M. A. (International Communication)

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This assignment investigates the bargaining relationship between multinational corporations (MNCs) and developing countries. The units of analysis of this study in Global Political Economy are MNCs (non-state actors) and nation-states. In the contemporary global production structure the 'balance of power' between MNCs and developing countries has shifted in favour of MNCs. Descriptive secondary sources were used to illustrate the MNC-State bargaining relationship in telecommunications privatisation in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the contemporary global economy nation-states only rarely still compete for territory, but rather for wealth-creating activities to be located within their borders. Important changes in the global production structure have resulted in the increased mobility and economic power of MNCs. These developments have affected the strategic relationship between MNCs and nation-states and the former have used their advantage to gain preferential treatment in the bargaining process. The nation-states are also competing amongst themselves for the investment and technology and knowledge transfers from these firms. Privatisation programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa have substantially increased MNC participation on the continent, which has been historically marginalised from global foreign direct investment receipts. Research has shown that MNC participation in infrastructure service provision is more efficient than government ownership. However, this does not constitute a loss of sovereignty, but rather emphasises the changing role of nation-states as facilitators of global market relations. On examination, the distinct bargaining relationship in telecommunications privatisation clearly illustrates the dependence of Sub-Saharan African countries on technologically advanced MNCs. Thus, the 'balance of power' has shifted more to MNCs in the global political economy. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie navorsingswerkstuk ondersoek die bedingingsverhouding tussen multinasionale korporasies (MNKs) en ontwikkelende lande. Die ondersoekeenhede in die studie van die Globale Politieke Ekonomie is MNKs (nie-staatrolspelers) en regeringstate. In die huidige globale produksiestruktuur het die mag tussen MNKs en ontwikkelende lande verander sodat die MNKs nou die magsoorwig het. Beskrywende sekondêre bronne is gebruik om die MNK-regeringstaat se bedingingsverhouding in telekommunikasie privatisering in Sub-Sahara Afrika te illustreer. In die teenswoordige globale ekonomie kompeteer regeringstate selde met mekaar om territoriale mag, maar oorwegend om welvaartskeppende bedrywe binne hul grense aan te moedig. Belangrike veranderings in die globale produksiestruktuur het MNKs se mobiliteit en ekonomiese mag verhoog. Hierdie ontwikkelinge het die strategiese verhouding tussen MNKs en regeringstate verander. MNKs gebruik hierdie invloed om voordeel te trek uit regeringstate wat kompeteer vir belegging en die tegnologie- en kennisoordrag van hierdie korporasies. Privatiseringsprogramme in Sub-Sahara Afrika het MNK-deelname op die kontinent verhoog, wat histories gemarginaliseer is van buitelandse direkte belegging. Navorsing dui daarop dat MNKs se deelname in infrastruktuurdienslewering meer doeltreffend is, as wanneer dit onder staatsbeheer is. Dit lei egter nie tot 'n verlies aan soeweriniteit nie, maar beklemtoon die regeringstaat se veranderde rol as fasiliteerder van globale markverhoudinge. Die ondersoek na die uitsonderlike bedingingsverhouding in die privatisering van telekommunikasie beklemtoon Sub-Sahara Afrika se afhanklikheid van tegnologies-ontwikkelde MNKs. Die magsbalans het gevolglik na die MNKs oorskuif in die globale politieke ekonomie.