Social-Aware Forecasting for Cellular Networks Metrics

Abstract

It has been long established that crowds generated by social events (e.g., sports matches, parades, fairs⋯) produce a high impact on cellular network service. However, to estimate such an impact, it is necessary to use data sources classically outside the mobile operator control. In this way, and following a social-aware approach, the forecasting mechanisms should be able to combine both social and network information to obtain reliable predictions. To this end, the present work develops a complete system for its use in the prediction of cellular metrics (e.g., connections, throughput⋯). The performance of the proposed solution is evaluated in a real cellular network, showing the capabilities of the approach to provide accurate forecasting.