Shared Antennas, Shared Risks

Alexandre Vogel and Cristel Pelsser

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This 2026 international conference paper, by Alexandre Vogel and Cristel Pelsser, was presented at 10th IEEE/IFIP Network Traffic Measurement and Analysis Conference (TMA 2026). Topics covered include machine-to-machine communications, mobile communication, 5g mobile communication, radio access networks, mobile antennas, fault tolerance, and telecommunication network reliability.

Abstract

As critical systems increasingly rely on machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, the demand for highly resilient connectivity has never been greater. While multipath protocols are often used to switch between different access technologies, they can also leverage multiple providers for the same type of access technology to enhance resilience. New multipath communication protocols have emerged to utilize multiple network interfaces simultaneously, offering more stable and robust mobile connections. However, a key question remains: Which operators should be selected to achieve truly resilient connections? To address this, we collected and analyzed public data to identify the locations of sites, the antennas installed at these sites, and the operators using these antennas, including the evolution of antenna sharing over time. In some cases, we also obtained details about the manufacturers and models of the antennas. Our analysis reveals the extent of antenna sharing among operators and the associated risks to resilience. Such an analysis is essential for selecting operators for critical systems relying on multipath communication protocols.

Publication Details

Publication Type
Conference Paper
Publication Date
June 2026
Published In
10th IEEE/IFIP Network Traffic Measurement and Analysis Conference (TMA 2026)
Publisher
IFIP Open Digital Library

Suggested citation

Alexandre Vogel and Cristel Pelsser. 2026. Shared Antennas, Shared Risks. In 10th IEEE/IFIP Network Traffic Measurement and Analysis Conference (TMA 2026). IFIP Open Digital Library.

BibTeX Citation

@inproceedings{Vogel2026,
	title        = {Shared Antennas, Shared Risks},
	author       = {Vogel, Alexandre and Pelsser, Cristel},
	year         = 2026,
	month        = jun,
	booktitle    = {10th IEEE/IFIP Network Traffic Measurement and Analysis Conference ({TMA} 2026)},
	publisher    = {IFIP Open Digital Library},
	abstract     = {As critical systems increasingly rely on machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, the demand for highly resilient connectivity has never been greater. While multipath protocols are often used to switch between different access technologies, they can also leverage multiple providers for the same type of access technology to enhance resilience. New multipath communication protocols have emerged to utilize multiple network interfaces simultaneously, offering more stable and robust mobile connections. However, a key question remains: Which operators should be selected to achieve truly resilient connections? To address this, we collected and analyzed public data to identify the locations of sites, the antennas installed at these sites, and the operators using these antennas, including the evolution of antenna sharing over time. In some cases, we also obtained details about the manufacturers and models of the antennas. Our analysis reveals the extent of antenna sharing among operators and the associated risks to resilience. Such an analysis is essential for selecting operators for critical systems relying on multipath communication protocols.},
	groups       = {International Conferences},
	keywords     = {Machine-to-machine communications, Mobile communication, 5G mobile communication, Radio access networks, Mobile antennas, Fault tolerance, Telecommunication network reliability}
}

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