Dynamic spectrum sharing in private networks during crowded events

Abstract

This thesis examines the challenges faced by mobile networks during large-scale events and evaluates private networks and network slicing as potential solutions for supporting critical services such as payment systems. The motivation of the study was to examine whether network slicing could offer a more efficient and practical alternative to deploying networks for temporary events, compared to private networks. Specifically, the goal was to assess how dynamic spectrum sharing, when integrated with network slicing, could improve spectrum utilization in temporary networks.

The thesis analyses the challenges related to implementing network slicing, particularly the trade-off between resource isolation and sharing. To assess spectrum utilization efficiency, a MATLAB simulation was conducted to model a 4G private network supporting a payment system at a music festival.

The simulation results show that while static radio resource allocation provides sufficient capacity during peak times, it leads to inefficient use of resources during quieter periods. The results suggest that network slicing and dynamic spectrum sharing could significantly improve spectrum utilization. However, the practical implementation of network slicing in heavily loaded mobile networks requires further research. Future studies should focus on leveraging realistic traffic models and addressing operational and regulatory challenges to enable the practical adoption of flexible and adaptive mobile network solutions.