Wireless Network Analytics for the New Era of Spectrum Patrolling and Monitoring

The importance of networks in modern-day society is experiencing rapid and extensive growth, thanks to remarkable technological advancements. Next-generation wireless networks will confront a scenario where densely interconnected devices demand high data rates, at least 99.999 percent reliability, and extremely low latency for transmissions. In this context, securing the radio spectrum becomes a crucial task. While adopting artificial intelligence-based technologies can make networks more intelligent and self-governing, it also exposes them to new vulnerabilities. Unfortunately, while the networks evolve at a dramatic pace and the spectrum becomes increasingly crowded, the way we monitor its usage appears inadequate and sporadic. Therefore, the need for methods and procedures for large-scale autonomous spectrum monitoring seems inevitable to face future challenging scenarios. In this article, we present our perspective on a set of tools suitable for efficient spectrum monitoring, which we refer to as wireless network analytics.