Abstract:Accurate spatial prediction of cellular traffic demand is essential for 5G NR capacity planning, network densification, and data-driven 6G planning. Although machine learning can fuse heterogeneous geospatial and socio-economic layers to estimate fine-grained demand maps, spatial autocorrelation can cause neighborhood leakage under naive train/test splits, inflating accuracy and weakening planning reliability. This paper presents an AI-driven framework that reduces leakage and improves spatial generalization via a context-aware two-stage splitting strategy with residual spatial error correction. Experiments using crowdsourced usage indicators across five major Canadian cities show consistent mean absolute error (MAE) reductions relative to location-only clustering, supporting more reliable bandwidth provisioning and evidence-based spectrum planning and sharing assessments.
Abstract:Accurately forecasting spectrum demand is a key component for efficient spectrum resource allocation and management. With the rapid growth in demand for wireless services, mobile network operators and regulators face increasing challenges in ensuring adequate spectrum availability. This paper presents a data-driven approach leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to estimate and manage spectrum demand. The approach uses multiple proxies of spectrum demand, drawing from site license data and derived from crowdsourced data. These proxies are validated against real-world mobile network traffic data to ensure reliability, achieving an R$^2$ value of 0.89 for an enhanced proxy. The proposed ML models are tested and validated across five major Canadian cities, demonstrating their generalizability and robustness. These contributions assist spectrum regulators in dynamic spectrum planning, enabling better resource allocation and policy adjustments to meet future network demands.