Estimating wireless network properties with spatial statistics and models

In this paper we discuss the use of spatial statistics and models for different estimation problems related to wireless networks. We focus specifically on problems of state estimation, in which measurement data on only part of the system is available, and should be used to infer the state of the rest of the system. Such problems are becoming increasingly important for network operations and diagnostics, and are also emerging in the context of resource management of future wireless networks. We provide a concise survey of existing techniques from the spatial statistics literature, show how they can be applied in the context of wireless networks, and outline key research challenges for future work.