The need to cope with the continuously growing number of connected users and the increased demand for mobile broadband services in the Internet of Things has led to the notion of introducing the fog computing paradigm in fifth generation (5G) mobile networks in the form of fog radio access network (F-RAN). The F-RAN approach emphasises bringing the computation capability to the edge of the network so as to reduce network bottlenecks and improve latency. However, despite the potential, the management of computational resources remains a challenge in F-RAN architectures. Thus, this paper aims to overcome the shortcomings of conventional approaches to computational resource allocation in F-RANs. Reinforcement learning (RL) is presented as a method for dynamic and autonomous resource allocation, and an algorithm is proposed based on Q-learning. RL has several benefits in resource allocation problems and simulations carried out show that it outperforms reactive methods. Furthermore, the results show that the proposed algorithm improves latency and thus has the potential to have a major impact in 5G applications, particularly the Internet of Things.

National regulatory authorities (NRAs) in developing countries need an accelerated means to formulate technical regulations for the telecommunications sector. This will enable countries to gain maximum benefits from the rapid advances in technology. The existing regulation-making processes are time-consuming and do not cope with the emergence of global technological changes. This article presents an efficient and quicker approach to formulate regulatory framework to govern the wireless technologies that are based on the Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) technique. The approach utilises Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tools. The article uses a case study to evaluate dominant Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM) frameworks. Finally, a sustainable DSM framework that has potential to address the digital divide challenges in the context of developing countries is proposed.

The paper overviews African first of the really large scale trials of television (TV) white space (TVWS) technology and white space devices (WSDs) designed to co-use the frequency spectrum allocated to TV broadcasting. The WSD obtains information about availability of the spectrum in a particular area for a particular period of time from a geolocation spectrum database (GLSD). The GLSD bases its estimations about the availability on stored information about primary users/transmitters in the area, propagation prediction algorithms and local spectrum management regulations. As the overall system is fairly complex and new, extensive testing and trials are required to prove its functionality and compatibility with existing users of the spectrum. Some of the experiences, specifically those from the largest in Africa TVWS trial providing Internet to 10 large schools, held in Tygerberg, South Africa, and conclusions on testing of WSD and use of white space are overviewed.

The Uniform hexagonal array (UHA) sidelobe level (SLL) reduction is a crucial consideration for avoiding co-channel interference and improving Carrier-to-interference Ratio (CIR) performance in HAP wireless networks using the TVWS spectrum. The SLL reduction in UHA has been researched by applying evolutionary algorithms such as genetic algorithm (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO). However, such algorithms have the drawbacks such as early convergence and the inability to reach globally. The beam pointing approaches for UHA antennas using Modified PSO (MPSO), for reducing the SLL on finding the optimal current weights is presented in this article. The UHA antenna array with 19 cells fitted with 169 elements in the HAPs cellular structure is considered to simulate the proposed approach. Then, the MPSO approach is employed and compared with the standard PSO algorithm and Uniform Weighting (UW) scheme. As per the simulation findings, the proposed approach drastically decreased sidelobes, with a reduction of up to -6.84dB and -13.3dB when compared to PSO and UW respectively. In other words, the proposed approach outperforms the UW and the PSO algorithms. Moreover, the CIR performance of the proposed approach has been demonstrated in terms of average outage probability and the proposed approach provides a better result.

The coverage and capacity of exploiting TV White Spaces (TVWS) from High Altitude Platforms (HAPs) with multiple antenna payloads using uniform rectangular phased array (URA) antennas are explored in this article. A scenario is suggested in which a HAP and TVWS base station are installed on the HAP within a HAP coverage area with a radius of 100 km and a cell radius of 10.5 km. A scenario is suggested in which TVWS base stations are installed on a HAP providing coverage to an area of 100 km radius. This area is consisted of a number of cells where each of them has a radius of 10.5 km. The formation of HAP cells with various reuse patterns has been established. An analysis of coverage, capacity and power profile function for TVWS link from 25×25 URA HAP arrays is presented. To minimize the sidelobe levels in the antenna array synthesis, window function has been assumed. Power profile within a cell using URA is highlighted. Channel to Interference (CIR) performance contour, coverage probability and channel capacity have been determined. The channel capacity for the theoretical Shannon bound and practical truncated Shannon bound are determined and compared. Results show that a maximum channel capacity of 53 Mbps can be attained from the proposed model.

Dynamic spectrum access (DSA) regulations and associated radio network technologies are expected to result in efficient frequency spectrum utilization by future wireless networks. TV white space (TVWS) networks supported by location aware spectrum databases (LASDs) will be the first step to realize DSA, until cost-effective cognitive radio (CR) devices are reliable enough for building future networks. This paper describes a design and development process of a LASD for rural communities in South Africa. Apart from avoiding the difficult problem of spectrum sensing, the database also protects primary TV broadcasters from any harmful interference that might be caused due to secondary spectrum usage. The LASD is designed as a tool for testing DSA policy frameworks and enables reconfigurable TVWS networks to provide full capacity and affordable wireless broadband Internet connectivity for rural communities.