Large-Scale AI in Telecom: Charting the Roadmap for Innovation, Scalability, and Enhanced Digital Experiences

This white paper discusses the role of large-scale AI in the telecommunications industry, with a specific focus on the potential of generative AI to revolutionize network functions and user experiences, especially in the context of 6G systems. It highlights the development and deployment of Large Telecom Models (LTMs), which are tailored AI models designed to address the complex challenges faced by modern telecom networks. The paper covers a wide range of topics, from the architecture and deployment strategies of LTMs to their applications in network management, resource allocation, and optimization. It also explores the regulatory, ethical, and standardization considerations for LTMs, offering insights into their future integration into telecom infrastructure. The goal is to provide a comprehensive roadmap for the adoption of LTMs to enhance scalability, performance, and user-centric innovation in telecom networks.

Electromagnetic Channel Modeling and Capacity Analysis for HMIMO Communications

Advancements in emerging technologies, e.g., reconfigurable intelligent surfaces and holographic MIMO (HMIMO), facilitate unprecedented manipulation of electromagnetic (EM) waves, significantly enhancing the performance of wireless communication systems. To accurately characterize the achievable performance limits of these systems, it is crucial to develop a universal EM-compliant channel model. This paper addresses this necessity by proposing a comprehensive EM channel model tailored for realistic multi-path environments, accounting for the combined effects of antenna array configurations and propagation conditions in HMIMO communications. Both polarization phenomena and spatial correlation are incorporated into this probabilistic channel model. Additionally, physical constraints of antenna configurations, such as mutual coupling effects and energy consumption, are integrated into the channel modeling framework. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed probabilistic channel model, indicating that traditional Rician and Rayleigh fading models cannot accurately depict the channel characteristics and underestimate the channel capacity. More importantly, the proposed channel model outperforms free-space Green's functions in accurately depicting both near-field gain and multi-path effects in radiative near-field regions. These gains are much more evident in tri-polarized systems, highlighting the necessity of polarization interference elimination techniques. Moreover, the theoretical analysis accurately verifies that capacity decreases with expanding communication regions of two-user communications.

Semantic Communication with Entropy-and-Channel-Adaptive Rate Control

Traditional wireless image transmission methods struggle to balance rate efficiency and reconstruction quality under varying channel conditions. To address these challenges, we propose a novel semantic communication (SemCom) system that integrates entropy-aware and channel-adaptive mechanisms for wireless image transmission over multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) fading channels. Unlike existing approaches, our system dynamically adjusts transmission rates based on the entropy of feature maps, channel state information (CSI), and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), ensuring optimal resource utilization and robust performance. The system employs feature map pruning, channel attention, spatial attention, and multihead self-attention (MHSA) mechanisms to prioritize critical semantic features and effectively reconstruct images. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system outperforms state-of-the-art benchmarks, including BPG+LDPC+4QAM and Deep JSCC, in terms of rate-distortion performance, flexibility, and robustness, particularly under challenging conditions such as low SNR, imperfect CSI, and inter-user interference. This work establishes a strong foundation for adaptive-rate SemCom systems and highlights their potential for real-time, bandwidthintensive applications.

Movable Antenna-Assisted Integrated Sensing and Communication Systems

Movable antennas (MAs) enhance flexibility in beamforming gain and interference suppression by adjusting position within certain areas of the transceivers. In this paper, we propose an MA-assisted integrated sensing and communication framework, wherein MAs are deployed for reconfiguring the channel array responses at both the receiver and transmitter of a base station. Then, we develop an optimization framework aimed at maximizing the sensing signal-to-interference-plus-noise-ratio (SINR) by jointly optimizing the receive beamforming vector, the transmit beamforming matrix, and the positions of MAs while meeting the minimum SINR requirement for each user. To address this nonconvex problem involving complex coupled variables, we devise an alternating optimization-based algorithm that incorporates techniques including the Charnes-Cooper transform, second-order Taylor expansion, and successive convex approximation (SCA). Specifically, the closed form of the received vector and the optimal transmit matrix can be first obtained in each iteration. Subsequently, the solutions for the positions of the transmit and receive MAs are obtained using the SCA method based on the second-order Taylor expansion. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme has significant advantages over the other baseline schemes. In particular, the proposed scheme has the ability to match the performance of the fixed position antenna scheme while utilizing fewer resources.

Generative AI Empowered Semantic Feature Multiple Access (SFMA) Over Wireless Networks

This paper investigates a novel generative artificial intelligence (GAI) empowered multi-user semantic communication system called semantic feature multiple access (SFMA) for video transmission, which comprises a base station (BS) and paired users. The BS generates and combines semantic information of several frames simultaneously requested by paired users into a single signal. Users recover their frames from this combined signal and input the recovered frames into a GAI-based video frame interpolation model to generate the intermediate frame. To optimize transmission rates and temporal gaps between simultaneously transmitted frames, we formulate an optimization problem to maximize the system sum rate while minimizing temporal gaps. Since the standard signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) equation does not accurately capture the performance of our semantic communication system, we introduce a weight parameter into the SINR equation to better represent the system's performance. Due to its dependence on transmit power, we propose a three-step solution. First, we develop a user pairing algorithm that pairs two users with the highest preference value, a weighted combination of semantic transmission rate and temporal gap. Second, we optimize inter-group power allocation by formulating an optimization problem that allocates proper transmit power across all user groups to maximize system sum rates while satisfying each user's minimum rate requirement. Third, we address intra-group power allocation to enhance each user's performance. Simulation results demonstrate that our method improves transmission rates by up to 24.8%, 45.8%, and 66.1% compared to fixed-power non-orthogonal multiple access (F-NOMA), orthogonal joint source-channel coding (O-JSCC), and orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), respectively.

Overview of AI and Communication for 6G Network: Fundamentals, Challenges, and Future Research Opportunities

With the increasing demand for seamless connectivity and intelligent communication, the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and communication for sixth-generation (6G) network is emerging as a revolutionary architecture. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of AI and communication for 6G networks, emphasizing their foundational principles, inherent challenges, and future research opportunities. We commence with a retrospective analysis of AI and the evolution of large-scale AI models, underscoring their pivotal roles in shaping contemporary communication technologies. The discourse then transitions to a detailed exposition of the envisioned integration of AI within 6G networks, delineated across three progressive developmental stages. The initial stage, AI for Network, focuses on employing AI to augment network performance, optimize efficiency, and enhance user service experiences. The subsequent stage, Network for AI, highlights the role of the network in facilitating and buttressing AI operations and presents key enabling technologies, including digital twins for AI and semantic communication. In the final stage, AI as a Service, it is anticipated that future 6G networks will innately provide AI functions as services and support application scenarios like immersive communication and intelligent industrial robots. Specifically, we have defined the quality of AI service, which refers to the measurement framework system of AI services within the network. In addition to these developmental stages, we thoroughly examine the standardization processes pertinent to AI in network contexts, highlighting key milestones and ongoing efforts. Finally, we outline promising future research opportunities that could drive the evolution and refinement of AI and communication for 6G, positioning them as a cornerstone of next-generation communication infrastructure.

Electromagnetic Modeling and Capacity Analysis of Rydberg Atom-Based MIMO System

Rydberg atom-based antennas exploit the quantum properties of highly excited Rydberg atoms, providing unique advantages over classical antennas, such as high sensitivity, broad frequency range, and compact size. Despite the increasing interests in their applications in antenna and communication engineering, two key properties, involving the lack of polarization multiplexing and isotropic reception without mutual coupling, remain unexplored in the analysis of Rydberg atom-based spatial multiplexing, i.e., multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), communications. Generally, the design considerations for any antenna, even for atomic ones, can be extracted to factors such as radiation patterns, efficiency, and polarization, allowing them to be seamlessly integrated into existing system models. In this letter, we extract the antenna properties from relevant quantum characteristics, enabling electromagnetic modeling and capacity analysis of Rydberg MIMO systems in both far-field and near-field scenarios. By employing ray-based method for far-field analysis and dyadic Green's function for near-field calculation, our results indicate that Rydberg atom-based antenna arrays offer specific advantages over classical dipole-type arrays in single-polarization MIMO communications.

E-Healthcare Systems: Integrated Sensing, Computing, and Semantic Communication with Physical Layer Security

This paper introduces an integrated sensing, computing, and semantic communication (ISCSC) framework tailored for smart healthcare systems. The framework is evaluated in the context of smart healthcare, optimising the transmit beamforming matrix and semantic extraction ratio for improved data rates, sensing accuracy, and general data protection regulation (GDPR) compliance, while considering IoRT device computing capabilities. Semantic metrics such as semantic transmission rate and semantic secrecy rate are derived to evaluate data rate performance and GDPR risk, respectively, while the Cram\'er-Rao Bound (CRB) assesses sensing performance. Simulation results demonstrate the framework's effectiveness in ensuring reliable sensing, high data rates, and secure communication.

Electromagnetic Normalization of Channel Matrix for Holographic MIMO Communications

Holographic multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) communications introduce innovative antenna array configurations, such as dense arrays and volumetric arrays, which offer notable advantages over conventional planar arrays with half-wavelength element spacing. However, accurately assessing the performance of these new holographic MIMO systems necessitates careful consideration of channel matrix normalization, as it is influenced by array gain, which, in turn, depends on the array topology. Traditional normalization methods may be insufficient for assessing these advanced array topologies, potentially resulting in misleading or inaccurate evaluations. In this study, we propose electromagnetic normalization approaches for the channel matrix that accommodate arbitrary array topologies, drawing on the array gains from analytical, physical, and full-wave methods. Additionally, we introduce a normalization method for near-field MIMO channels based on a rigorous dyadic Green's function approach, which accounts for potential losses of gain at near field. Finally, we perform capacity analyses under quasi-static, ergodic, and near-field conditions, through adopting the proposed normalization techniques. Our findings indicate that channel matrix normalization should reflect the realized gains of the antenna array in target directions. Failing to accurately normalize the channel matrix can result in errors when evaluating the performance limits and benefits of unconventional holographic array topologies, potentially compromising the optimal design of holographic MIMO systems.

Multi-Sources Fusion Learning for Multi-Points NLOS Localization in OFDM System

Accurate localization of mobile terminals is a pivotal aspect of integrated sensing and communication systems. Traditional fingerprint-based localization methods, which infer coordinates from channel information within pre-set rectangular areas, often face challenges due to the heterogeneous distribution of fingerprints inherent in non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenarios, particularly within orthogonal frequency division multiplexing systems. To overcome this limitation, we develop a novel multi-sources information fusion learning framework referred to as the Autosync Multi-Domains NLOS Localization (AMDNLoc). Specifically, AMDNLoc employs a two-stage matched filter fused with a target tracking algorithm and iterative centroid-based clustering to automatically and irregularly segment NLOS regions, ensuring uniform distribution within channel state information across frequency, power, and time-delay domains. Additionally, the framework utilizes a segment-specific linear classifier array, coupled with deep residual network-based feature extraction and fusion, to establish the correlation function between fingerprint features and coordinates within these regions. Simulation results reveal that AMDNLoc achieves an impressive NLOS localization accuracy of 1.46 meters on typical wireless artificial intelligence research datasets and demonstrates significant improvements in interpretability, adaptability, and scalability.