Title :
Competitive Pricing in Heterogeneous Wireless Access Networks: Issues and Approaches
Author :
Niyato, Dusit ; Hossain, Ekram
Author_Institution :
Nanyang Technol. Univ., Singapore
Abstract :
To provide seamless mobility with high-speed wireless connectivity, future generation wireless networks must support heterogeneous wireless access. Pricing schemes adopted by different service providers is crucial and will impact the decisions of users in selecting a network. In this article, we provide a comprehensive survey of the issues related to pricing in heterogeneous wireless networks and possible approaches to the solution of the pricing problem. First, we review the related work on pricing for homogeneous wireless networks in which a single wireless technology is available to the users. Then, we outline the major issues in designing resource allocation and pricing in heterogeneous wireless access networks. To this end, we propose two oligopolistic models for price competition among service providers in a heterogeneous wireless environment consisting of WiMax and WiFi access networks. A non-cooperative game is formulated to obtain the price for the service providers. Two different equilibria, namely, the Nash and the Stackelberg equilibria are considered as the solutions of the simultaneous-play and leader-follower price competitions, respectively.
Keywords :
WiMax; decision theory; game theory; mobile radio; oligopoly; pricing; radio access networks; resource allocation; wireless LAN; Nash equilibria; Stackelberg equilibria; WiFi; WiMax; competitive pricing; future generation wireless network; heterogeneous wireless access network; high-speed wireless connectivity; mobile radio; noncooperative game theory; oligopolistic model; resource allocation; Admission control; Constraint optimization; Frequency; Game theory; Multiaccess communication; Pricing; Resource management; Safety; WiMAX; Wireless networks;
Journal_Title :
Network, IEEE
DOI :
10.1109/MNET.2008.4694168