Analysis of CAPEX and OPEX benefits of wireless access virtualization

Virtualization of wireless access networks dictates a new direction in the research of cost effective and energy efficient network modelling that the telecommunications industry is seeking. Different research initiatives are dealing with virtualization of wireless resources (e.g. nodes, wireless access cards, wireless spectrum) and new ideas are being put forth to leverage cloud computing in the wireless telecom domain. In this paper, we analyze the CAPEX and OPEX of our proposed virtualized wireless access network framework and show its benefits with regards to traditional network architectures. We also examine the trade-offs associated in achieving such benefits.