28,465 research outputs found
Coalitional Games with Overlapping Coalitions for Interference Management in Small Cell Networks
In this paper, we study the problem of cooperative interference management in
an OFDMA two-tier small cell network. In particular, we propose a novel
approach for allowing the small cells to cooperate, so as to optimize their
sum-rate, while cooperatively satisfying their maximum transmit power
constraints. Unlike existing work which assumes that only disjoint groups of
cooperative small cells can emerge, we formulate the small cells' cooperation
problem as a coalition formation game with overlapping coalitions. In this
game, each small cell base station can choose to participate in one or more
cooperative groups (or coalitions) simultaneously, so as to optimize the
tradeoff between the benefits and costs associated with cooperation. We study
the properties of the proposed overlapping coalition formation game and we show
that it exhibits negative externalities due to interference. Then, we propose a
novel decentralized algorithm that allows the small cell base stations to
interact and self-organize into a stable overlapping coalitional structure.
Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm results in a notable
performance advantage in terms of the total system sum-rate, relative to the
noncooperative case and the classical algorithms for coalitional games with
non-overlapping coalitions
Sharing of Unlicensed Spectrum by Strategic Operators
Facing the challenge of meeting ever-increasing demand for wireless data, the
industry is striving to exploit large swaths of spectrum which anyone can use
for free without having to obtain a license. Major standards bodies are
currently considering a proposal to retool and deploy Long Term Evolution (LTE)
technologies in unlicensed bands below 6 GHz. This paper studies the
fundamental questions of whether and how the unlicensed spectrum can be shared
by intrinsically strategic operators without suffering from the tragedy of the
commons. A class of general utility functions is considered. The spectrum
sharing problem is formulated as a repeated game over a sequence of time slots.
It is first shown that a simple static sharing scheme allows a given set of
operators to reach a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium for mutually beneficial
sharing. The question of how many operators will choose to enter the market is
also addressed by studying an entry game. A sharing scheme which allows dynamic
spectrum borrowing and lending between operators is then proposed to address
time-varying traffic and proved to achieve perfect Bayesian equilibrium.
Numerical results show that the proposed dynamic sharing scheme outperforms
static sharing, which in turn achieves much higher revenue than uncoordinated
full-spectrum sharing. Implications of the results to the standardization and
deployment of LTE in unlicensed bands (LTE-U) are also discussed.Comment: To appear in the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications,
Special Issue on Game Theory for Network
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