Pricing-based service and network selection in overlaid access networks

Nowadays, wireless service providers are using a mix of access technologies to cater to the wide variety of services having varied QoS requirements. Users, on the other hand, use multi-mode terminals to connect to the networks that are operated by competing service providers. In near-future, users will select the providers on a session-by-session basis based on the price offered and the QoS assurance. In such a market-based scenario, pricing will become an effective tool that regulates the demands of the users and controls the revenue of the providers. In this paper, we study how service providers use their overlaid heterogeneous networks to provide services to the end users. We propose a decision making process for network selection from the service provider´s point of view. We conduct a case study where a wireless service provider provides coverage through two different access technologies - CDMA/HDR and Wi-Fi. We focus on performance issues from both providers´ and users´ perspective. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed network selection policy maximizes the net utilities for both users and service providers.