Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) systems represent a powerful solution for reestablishing connectivity in emergency scenarios where terrestrial infrastructure is damaged or overloaded. However, ensuring service continuity under UAV mobility and resource constraints poses significant orchestration challenges. This paper presents a mobility-aware orchestration framework tailored for UAV-enabled IoT networks in such critical contexts. Leveraging Kubernetes for service orchestration and Prometheus for telemetry monitoring, we design and implement a modular architecture that dynamically reallocates containerized services across mobile UAV nodes in real time. Our framework is validated through physical testbed experiments on Raspberry Pi-equipped UAVs, where container migration is triggered by geographic constraints and monitored across varying pod workloads and link conditions. Results demonstrate robust adaptability, sub-second recovery under favorable link quality, and a scalable orchestration strategy for mission-critical operations. This work advances the practical deployment of orchestrated UAV swarms, bridging the gap between theoretical frameworks and real-world mobility-aware computing.

This paper describes the integration of Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks, wherein space-based network entities collaborate with traditional and emerging terrestrial communication frameworks to furnish pervasive, resilient, and three-dimensional wireless connectivity worldwide toward the 6th Generation of communication networks. This integration supports heterogeneous services, such as enhancing coverage, user experience, system capacity, service reliability, and availability, while also providing high-speed connectivity in remote or disaster-affected areas, improving existing 5th Generation technologies. Various Use Cases are detailed, highlighting the pivotal roles that Non-Terrestrial Networks play in distinguishing between urban/suburban and rural environments, with particular emphasis on transportation ecosystems. Through this analysis, Key Performance Indicators and requirements are delineated to characterize the requisite service quality for these diverse Use Cases. The paper further presents an overview of potential and standards-compliant integrated Terrestrial/Non-Terrestrial architectures, delineating their roles both in backhauling and access across different layers of Non-Terrestrial systems and elements. These insights are derived from studies conducted within the Integrated Terrestrial And Non-Terrestrial Networks (ITA-NTN) project, part of the European Union initiative defined as the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) RESTART Research Program.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a severe overload of intensive care units with a consequent drastic reduction of ordinary hospitalization, diagnostic tests, and interventions that has led to a significant increase in the number of deaths due to diseases other than the new coronavirus. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and the forthcoming Sixth-Generation (6G) system may revolutionize the doctor-patient relationship and healthcare modalities owing to the introduction of eHealth (or digital health). In this context, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) have vital importance in providing global connectivity thus improving the availability of eHealth services, especially in rural and remote areas. In this paper, we propose a Reliable Satellite Routing Algorithm (RSRA) for a 3D NTN based on Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. RSRA enables health data detected by sensors worn by the patients to be transmitted to health professionals by selecting a chain of reliable LEO satellites in order to protect such sensitive data. The system-level performance of proposed RSRA algorithm is assessed through simulation campaigns and compared against a routing approach that neglects LEO satellite reliability.

According to the 6G vision, the evolution of wireless communication systems will soon lead to the possibility of supporting Tbps communications, as well as satisfying, individually or jointly, a plethora of other very stringent quality requirements related to latency, bitrate, and reliability. The achievement of these goals will naturally raise many research issues within radio communications. In this context, a promising 6G wireless communications enabler is the reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) hardware architecture, which has already been recognized as a game-changing way to turn any naturally passive wireless communication setting into an active one. This paper investigates RIS-aided multicast 6G communications by first modeling the system delay as a first-come-first-served (FCFS) M/D/1 queue and analyzing the behavior under different blockage conditions. Then the study of multi-beam operation scenarios, covering multicast and RIS-aided multicast communications, is conducted by leveraging an M/D/c queue model. Achieved results show that large-size RISs outperform even slightly obstructed direct BS-to-user paths. In contrast, RISs of smaller sizes require the design of sophisticated power control and sharing mechanisms to achieve better performance.

Internet of Space Things (IoST) is a challenging paradigm, which is currently attracting great interest from the scientific and industrial communities. IoST is based on the integration of the space segment into the global Internet-of-Things (IoT) infrastructure. In the relevant literature, reference is generally made to multiple constellations of nanosatellite platforms, used to enable IoT services on a global scale, including also disadvantaged and poorly infrastructured areas. In this article, we focus on multitenant IoT scenarios, wherein multiple CubeSats constellations are enabled to offer services by exploiting a dynamic federation model. The objective is to efficiently provide services in an IoST scenario by leveraging an effective cooperation strategy originally designed for terrestrial IoT networks, the Mobile-IoT-Federation-as-a-Service (MIFaaS) paradigm. We extend this vision to IoT satellite networks in order to allow a constellation of satellites to effectively execute tasks through a tight cooperative behavior with other CubeSats constellations. The reported performance evaluation studies show that better performance, in terms of percentage of tasks successfully completed, can be achieved through the implementation of the proposed cooperation paradigm.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. Today, the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in support of education, medicine, business, and administration has become a reality practically everywhere. In particular, the eHealth (digital Health) sector is on the cusp of a revolution, fueled by the worldwide health emergency due to the spread of the new coronavirus. With a view to developing new sixth-generation (6G)-oriented architectures, advanced eHealth services like telemonitoring would benefit from the support of technologies that guarantee secure data access, ultralow latency and very-high reliability targets, which are hardly achievable by the fifth generation (5G). This is the reason why this work proposes an eHealth system architecture, in which low-latency enabling technologies like Device-to-Device (D2D) communications and multiaccess edge computing (MEC) are integrated and supported by security mechanisms for an optimal management of sensitive health data collected by Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices. A preliminary evaluation of the proposed framework is provided that shows promising results in terms of data security and latency reduction.

Cooperation to access wireless networks is a key approach towards optimizing the use of finite radio spectrum resources in overcrowded unlicensed bands and to help satisfy the expectations of wireless users in terms of high data rates and low latency. Although solutions that advocate this approach have been widely proposed in the literature, they still do not consider a number of aspects that can improve the performance of the users’ connections, such as the inclusion of (1) cooperation among network operators and (2) users’ quality requirements based on their applications. To fill this gap, in this paper we propose a centralized framework that is aimed at providing a “win‐win” cooperation among Wi‐Fi and cellular networks, which takes into account 5G technologies and users’ requirements in terms of Quality of Service (QoS). Moreover, the framework is supported by smart Radio Access Technology (RAT) selection mechanisms that orchestrate the connection of the clients to the networks. In particular, we discuss details on the design of the proposed framework, the motivation behind its implementation, the main novelties, its feasibility, and the main components. In order to demonstrate the benefits of our solution, we illustrate efficiency results achieved through the simulation of a smart RAT selection algorithm in a realistic scenario, which mimics the proposed “win‐win” cooperation between Wi‐Fi and cellular 5G networks, and we also discuss potential benefits for wireless and mobile network operators.

Abstract As we enter a new era of next-generation wireless systems represented by Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) technology, it is essential to grasp the recent progress in their standardization and development. This article offers a concise survey of the 5G NR system design that aims at introducing its features according to the relevant Third Generation Partnership (3GPP) specifications. Our focus is set on the flexibility of 5G NR, which refers to its capability to support novel services and technologies, such as enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) and Internet of Things (IoT) for massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC) while satisfying the underlying quality requirements. The key enablers of the 5G NR operation are scalable numerology, ultra-lean and beam-centric design, support for low latency, spectrum extension, and forward compatibility. This work summarizes these important features by studying the overall 5G architecture and the user-/control-plane protocol stacks specified by 3GPP. Furthermore, the impact of scalable numerology on system performance is discussed. Finally, we also consider open challenges and future research directions.

Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) based on the emerging 5G New Radio (NR) technology stand as an effective solution to complement terrestrial networks in service provisioning, owing to their ability to satisfy requests of anywhere and anytime connection, and to increase network scalability by delivering multicast/broadcast services to groups of NTN terminals through Point-to-Multipoint transmissions. However, current satellite systems operating at different orbits remain isolated islands and fail to express their true potential if not properly made interoperable with ground networks. In the light of effectively integrating existing 5G networks into a unified system, we propose a cooperative radio resource management scheme that enhances the performance of an integrated terrestrial-NTN system based on the emerging 5G NR technology. It leverages the principles of multicast subgrouping techniques to determine which users will get connected to either terrestrial base station (i.e., gNB) or NTN cell (i.e., NTN-gNB) and properly allocate resources in order to improve the overall network throughput. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed solution.

5th-Generation (5G) applications require high data rates and Quality of Service (QoS) levels. Mobile devices can access the Internet exploiting several technologies, as for example Long Term Evolution (LTE) or Wireless Fidelity (WiFi). In this context, the heterogeneous network (HetNet) paradigm has been introduced to allow the coexistence of devices and services with different characteristics assuring a high QoS level to users with-out modifying resource distribution and management. Several access network selection methods have been proposed showing the limitation of not considering both the type of traffic for the service requested by users and the characteristics of devices. To overcome this limitation, a new HetNet selection method based on additive logarithmic weighting (ALW) algorithm is presented in this paper, combining information related to the received signal power, network load, and mobility of users.

A new class of miniaturized satellites, named CubeSats, have recently drawn the attention of the academic community first, and later of industry too, because they appear as a high attractive solution to provide a true widespread connectivity that allows also objects in remote areas to be part of the global Internet of Things (IoT). In this paper, we study the integration of this kind of satellites into multi-tenant scenarios, wherein multiple CubeSats constellations may be able to offer services even in an integrated manner. In particular, an IoT platform running within SDN/NFV-ready infrastructures which also includes CubeSat segments is designed. In the proposed architecture, CubeSats are considered as IoT sensing and actuation devices in the sky always available and able to provide enhanced services through their virtual counterpart (i.e., the virtual object). Useful scenarios are described and studied in which different constellations of CubeSats can be orchestrated via the proposed virtualisation platform to cooperate in providing IoT services.

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication will be one of the key enabling technologies for the future fifth generation (5G) cellular systems. A D2D communication allows nearby devices to transmit data directly, without passing through the network. Thanks to the proximity between devices, it allows to boost network performance by improving data rate, energy saving, and delay. Objective of the proposal in this paper is to securing future D2D communications. To this purpose, a new mechanism is designed which leverages (i) social trustworthiness, achieved through the Social Internet of Things (SIoT) paradigm, and (ii) encryption based on the Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange (DHKE) protocol for public key distribution. Results of a simulation campaign carried out by using MATLAB demonstrate that the proposed protocol can effectively enhance the protection of transmitted data by excluding users considered to be unreliable on the basis of both their reputation and their past behavior.

The coexistence of human type communications (HTC) with an ever-increasing number of machine type communications (MTC) is a challenge that the forthcoming Fifth Generation (5G) network is claimed to tackle. Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC) are among the most demanding services that 5G network will support. Also referred to as mission-critical services, URLLC often requires group communications. The evolved Multimedia Broadcast and Multicast Services (eMBMS) architecture, currently specified by 3GPP to support group-based services in cellular networks, needs a revision to deliver future mission-critical services. In this paper, we analyze the performance of different machine-type multicast service (MtMS) scenarios and we compare three subgroup based approaches for multicast data delivery to MTC devices with limited channel bandwidth. Achieved simulation results provide useful guidelines for the design of multicasting schemes able to support delay-sensitive applications in 5G networks.

Recently, mobile multimedia services have represented an increasingly large source of revenue for the telecommunication industry. Subscribers are often interested in simultaneously receiving the same data flow and, hence, they fuel the growing demand for multicast multimedia services. Therefore, the design of efficient radio resource management strategies to jointly handle multicast and more traditional unicast traffic and to increase user satisfaction is of primary importance for the successful deployment of future mobile networks. This paper proposes an efficient radio resource management framework to handle unicast and multicast multi-layer video services. The proposed virtual unified group (VUG) approach makes use of a channel-aware subgrouping principle to provide fair throughput to both unicast and multicast users. The idea is to assign unicast subscribers to a virtual group, thus allowing them to compete for network resources on an equal footing with multicast users. Simulations highlight the benefits that VUG provides in a long term evolution network scenario, under different traffic load conditions, in terms of throughput and fairness in the distribution of resources to unicast and multicast users.

The rapid demand growth for group-oriented services mandates telco operators to efficiently manage the contemporary presence of the unicast services and the emerging multicast applications. We propose a novel radio resource management approach for providing fair throughput to unicast and multicast users in a broadband wireless network. The idea is to assign unicast subscribers to a virtual group in order to compete on an equal footing with multicast users for network resource distribution. We also revisit the traditional fairness indexes in order to capture the fairness in the degree of user satisfaction for unicast and multicast users. Simulations highlight the effectiveness of the virtual group strategy in terms of achieved fairness in several scenarios and under different traffic loads.

The research on the Internet of Things (IoT) has made rapid strides towards the definition of a global network of interconnected objects. Some IETF Working Groups are giving major contributions in this direction by standardizing an IPv6-based framework for resource-constrained nodes. Although this solution handles different constrained networks' devices, it does not explicitly manage the integration with a key IoT enabler: the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. In this paper, we propose a CoAP-compliant solution where RFID tags are directly accessible via a reader that acts as a proxy. The RFID tags, behaving as virtual CoAP servers, are included in the IoT realm. Key design aspects are addressed such as tag addressing, service and resource discovery, and mapping of CoAP methods onto RFID commands. Finally, the performance of the proposed solution is evaluated in order to provide useful indications for future deployments.

This paper focuses on the design of radio resource management policies for multicast service delivery in WiMAX networks. With the purpose of finding an alternative solution to the conventional multicast scheme that is conservative towards resource utilization, we propose to use a subgroup-based link adaptation technique that dynamically chooses the modulation and coding schemes based on the perceived channel conditions in each subgroup of multicast receivers. The main idea is to split the multicast destinations into different subgroups depending on the perceived channel quality, and to apply subgroup-based adaptive modulation and coding for a more efficient spectrum exploitation. The performance of different solutions for the subgroups formation will be analyzed and their effectiveness evaluated through simulations to show how the network can take advantage from the proposed subgrouping approach.

The provision of Quality of Service (QoS) is one of the primary requirements for IEEE 802.16/WiMAX to become a reference technology for multimedia service delivery. This paper reports on the design and analysis of some channel- aware scheduling algorithms for downlink traffic delivery in a fixed point-to-multipoint WiMAX network. In particular, compensation-based and greedy approaches are compared according to their ability to provide QoS and fairness to traffic flows when not working in ideal channel conditions. Simulations highlight that the greedy philosophy fails to provide service differentiation, especially when users perceive heterogeneous channel conditions.

The IEEE 802.16 standard has been promoted by the WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) forum as a leading wireless broadband access technology. The packet scheduling mechanism represents the core of WiMAX QoS architecture; however, each vendor needs to design its own algorithm to offer effective quality provisioning to the end user. This paper reports on the design and analysis of a channel-aware WF2Q+ based scheduling algorithm for downlink traffic delivery in a point-to-multipoint WiMAX network. A technique for compensation of channel errors is proposed to preserve QoS and fairness of the scheduling algorithm when working under non-ideal channel conditions. Simulation analysis confirms the effectiveness of the compensation mechanism under different channel conditions, network load, and traffic characteristics.