Toward a Fully Cloudified Mobile Network Infrastructure

Commoditization and virtualization of wireless networks are changing the economics of mobile networks to help network providers, e.g. Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO), move from proprietary and bespoke hardware and software platforms to an open, cost-efficient and flexible cellular ecosystem. In addition, rich and innovation local services can be efficiently materialized through cloudification by leveraging the existing infrastructure. The future communication architecture for mobile cloud services - Mobile Cloud Networking (MCN) is a EU FP7 large-scale integrating project (IP) funded by the European Commission that is focusing on how cloud computing and network function virtualization concepts are applied to achieve virtualization of cellular networks. It aims at the development of a fully cloud-based mobile communication and application platform, or more specifically, it aims to investigate, implement and evaluate the technological foundations for the mobile communication system of long-term evolution (LTE), based on mobile network with decentralized computing and smart storage offered as one atomic service: on-demand, elastic and pay-as-you-go. MCN will investigate, implement and evaluate the technological foundations for that system to meet real-time performance and support efficient and elastic use and sharing of radio access and mobile core network resources between operators. Mobile network functionalities-such as baseband unit processing, mobility management and quality of service (QoS) control-will run on the enhanced mobile cloud platform leveraging commodity hardware, which requires extensions toward higher decentralization and enhancing them to elastically scale up and down based on load. The end-to-end control and management orchestrates infrastructure and services across several technological domains: wireless, mobile core and data centres, providing guaranteed multiple end-to-end service, mobility through the Follow-Me Cloud concept. In this chapter, we present three enabling components of such a future MCN architecture: Radio Access Network as a Service (RANaaS), Information-Centric Networking as a Service (ICNaaS) and Mobility Prediction as a Service (MOBaaS).

On the competitive effects of mobile virtual network operators

Customer retention, loyalty, and satisfaction in the German mobile cellular telecommunications market

The paper analyzes gross upward pricing pressure indices—texttt {iGUPPI}—to assess the anti-competitive effects of mergers between vertically integrated firms where independent rivals are active in the downstream market. Such indices could be used, for example, to screen mergers between mobile network operators that compete with mobile virtual network operators in the downstream retail market. It is shown that the texttt {iGUPPI} for the downstream divisions of the merging firms corresponds to the sum of two well-known upward pricing pressure indices: the texttt {GUPPI} concept of Salop and Moresi (Georget Law J, 2009), and the texttt {vGUPPI} concept of Moresi and Salop (Antitrust Law J 79(1):185–214, 2013). However, this simple decomposition does not hold for their upstream divisions a priori. Here, additional effects that are not included in the two concepts arise. Further assumptions with respect to the price reactions of the downstream divisions to increases in the input prices are imposed so that the texttt {iGUPPI} for the upstream divisions is decomposable into an upstream market version of the texttt {GUPPI} and the texttt {vGUPPI}.

Competition in Wireless Telecommunications: The Role of MVNOs and Cable’s Entry into Wireless

This paper analyzes the spectrum trading problem in virtualized fifth generation networks to enhance the network performance with respect to the spectrum utilization. The problem is modeled as a many‐to‐many matching game with utility‐based preferences and determines the matching between mobile network operators and mobile virtual network operators. The two proposed versions of utility functions for each set aim at maximizing the satisfaction of both sets with conflicting interests and improving the overall spectrum efficiency. In the simulation evaluation, the proposed scheme is compared with three different schemes in terms of the system utility, individual, and pair matching satisfaction. We also investigate the scalability aspects, the strategy plan impact on the matching performance of our proposed scheme, and at the same time, we attempt to make appropriate assumptions closer to reality. Our proposed scheme shows much better performance than the other schemes achieving a quite high level of satisfaction for the matching result on both sets.

Network slicing is one of the key enabling techniques for 5G, allowing Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to support services with diverging requirements on top of their infrastructure. The MNOs should be able to offer network slices as a service and provide customisable and independent virtual networks to verticals. The slicing of an end-to-end (E2E) mobile network is divided into Core Network (CN) slicing, and Radio Access Network (RAN) slicing. In this paper, we assess the requirements for using radio hypervisors to enable RAN as a Service (RANaaS). We evaluate the current state-of-the-art on radio virtualisation with respect to these requirements and identify the missing features. Then, we present the eXtensible Virtualisation Layer (XVL), a software layer that provides the missing functionality for enabling RANaaS and can be added on top of existing radio hypervisors. We outline XVL's architecture and design choices, as well as evaluate its performance in terms of the delay to provision virtual radios, the delay introduced to forward IQ samples, and the computational overhead. Our results show that XVL enables leveraging existing radio hypervisors to support RANaaS.

In this paper, we propose hierarchical control architecture and request routing mechanisms to support N-Screen services and mobility of both sources and devices in heterogeneous networks. N-Screen services enable users to manage their active sessions among multiple devices having different capabilities, access networks and locations. To support N-Screen services in mobile operator networks, we introduce new functions that maintain the list of active devices with their sessions and network parameters for efficient N-Screen session management. The system supports the terminal and personal mobility of both the sources and devices without affecting the overall multicast connections and minimizes the service disruption. We propose a hierarchical structure for request routing and content sharing that tries to add a user to an active session locally first. The system offloads the backhaul and core networks traffic by localized session adaptation and sharing and improves the scalability issue of existing centralized mobile network architecture. We focus on the physical placement of the new nodes and mechanisms for request routing. Simulation results show that the use of hierarchical adaptation nodes in mobile operator networks can significantly reduce network latency and traffic, and improve the system throughput.

In this paper, an incentive proactive cache mechanism in cache-enabled small cell networks (SCNs) is proposed, in order to motivate the content providers (CPs) to participate in the caching procedure. A network composed of a single mobile network operator (MNO) and multiple CPs is considered. The MNO aims to define the price it charges the CPs to maximize its revenue while the CPs compete to determine the number of files they cache at the MNO's small base stations (SBSs) to improve the quality of service (QoS) of their users. This problem is formulated as a Stackelberg game where a single MNO is considered as the leader and the multiple CPs willing to cache files are the followers. The followers game is modeled as a non-cooperative game and both the existence and uniqueness of a Nash equilibrium (NE) are proved. The closed-form expression of the NE which corresponds to the amount of storage each CP requests from the MNO is derived. An optimization problem is formulated at the MNO side to determine the optimal price that the MNO should charge the CPs. Simulation results show that at the equilibrium, the MNO and CPs can all achieve a utility that is up to 50% higher than the cases in which the prices and storage quantities are requested arbitrarily.

Video is expected to be the dominant application by traffic volume over mobile networks in the near future. Mobile network operators are deploying video optimization techniques to enhance the user experience and network utilization for video delivery. Video optimization is typically “out-of-network” and includes techniques such as transcoding, transrating, time shifting and pacing that are implemented outside of mobile radio access and core networks. However, such techniques cannot easily exploit information about real time cell congestion and radio conditions for the video terminals because it is difficult to obtain such information from the radio access network. We propose a novel “in-network” video optimization technique, named Adaptive Guaranteed Bit Rate (AGBR), for HTTP-based Adaptive Streaming (HAS) video. This optimization technique is implemented at the base station and can thus exploit knowledge of the radio and congestion conditions. With only limited knowledge of the video stream properties or content, AGBR works by adjusting the throughput delivered to the different HAS clients that in turn adjust the video quality they request. The optimization algorithm maximizes aggregate quality across multiple video flows served by the base station without starving data clients, thereby improving the overall quality of experience. We demonstrate through extensive analytical modeling and simulations that AGBR can adapt to changing network conditions to support more video sessions at an acceptable quality than alternative algorithms, while enforcing fairness among all users competing for resources within a sector.

Background: The government of the Republic of Zambia had long emphasized the significance of fostering economic growth through enhanced access to financial services. However, the persistent issue of income inequality and sluggish economic expansion underscored the need for targeted interventions. In response, the emergence of Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the financial sector, offering a diverse range of services including credit access, represented a concerted effort to address these challenges. Despite these advancements, a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of MNOs' credit access remained lacking, particularly in the specific context of the Lusaka central business district. Consequently, the primary purpose of this study was to rigorously evaluate the various factors that influenced mobile money operators' access to credit within the Lusaka central business district of Zambia. Method: This research employed a case study research design to investigate the factors that influenced credit access for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in the Lusaka central business district. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, combining quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. The study's sample consisted of 125 MNOs, which were selected through a combination of simple random sampling and purposive sampling to ensure a representative cohort of respondents. This approach facilitated a holistic exploration of the various factors that impacted credit access among MNOs. Results: The study's findings highlight several key determinants of credit access among mobile money operators. Demographic factors, such as age, emerge as influential, with youths aged 20-34 demonstrating both technical proficiency and a better grasp of credit information. Education levels also prove to be correlated with mobile money service operation, as respondents with higher education levels exhibit greater ease in accessing and understanding mobile money credit services. Network availability emerges as a pivotal factor driving the adoption of mobile money services. However, a notable proportion of respondents expressed challenges in accessing credit through mobile networks. Trust and security concerns are identified as significant barriers deterring potential users from engaging with mobile money services. Conclusion: In light of the study's findings, it is recommended that comprehensive awareness programs be implemented within central business district schools. These programs aim to equip budding entrepreneurs with the knowledge and skills necessary for responsible engagement with mobile money services. By targeting the youth demographic, these initiatives seek to instil soundfinancial habits from an early age, thereby contributing to improved financial access, reduced income inequality, and enhanced economic growth in the Republic of Zambia.

The amalgamation of heterogeneous generations of mobile cellular networks around the globe has resulted in diverse data speed experiences for end users. At present, there are no defined mechanisms in place for subscribers of a mobile network operator (MNO) to use the services of third-party WiFi providers. MNOs also have no standardized procedures to securely interact with each other, and allow their subscribers to use third-party services on a pay-as-you-go basis. This paper proposes a blockchain-enabled offloading framework that allows a subscriber of a mobile operator to temporarily use another MNO or WiFi provider’s higher-speed network. A smart contract is employed to allow diverse entities, such as MNOs, brokers and WiFi providers, to automatically execute mutual agreements, to enable the utilization of third-party infrastructure in a secure and controlled manner. The proposed framework is tested using Ethereum’s testnet on the Goerli network using Alchemy and Hardhat. The analysis of the results obtained shows that the proposed technique helps mobile operators to offer improved user experience in the form of average speed and latency. The experiments show that the average time taken to deliver a 500 MB file is reduced from 10.23 s to 0.91 s for the global average scenario, from 6.09 s to 0.50 s for 5G, from 13.50 s to 0.50 s for 4G-LTE, from 41.11 s to 0.49 s for 4G, and from 339.11 s to 0.49 s for the 3G scenario. The results also show that, with WiFi offloading, users from all cellular generations can enjoy a similar quality of services, because delivery time ranges from 0.49 s to 0.91 s for offloaded experiments whereas for the non-offloaded scenario it ranges from 6.09 s to 339.11 s.

Navigation services based on the infrastructure of mobile network operators (MNO) are among the offerings, which many MNO consider promising in order to increase their revenue streams arising from innovative non-voice services. The present investigation attempts a closer look at pricing approach and collection procedure preferences for potential mobile navigation services (MNS) offers of MNO in a sample of 583 German-speaking consumers. It applies the conjoint analysis method to assess effects of three pricing approach and four collection procedure attribute levels on consumer preferences in the context of fictitious MNS. The results reveal that at the aggregate sample level respondents favour MNS accompanied by a flat rate scheme and which incorporate the charges for the services in the invoice which MNO send anyway to their postpaid subscribers. The findings also suggest there exists a small but probably affluent group of consumers to whom use-frequency or data-transfer volume dependent tariffs are appealing.

Mobile data offloading can help the mobile network operator (MNO) cope with the explosive growth of cellular traffic, by delivering mobile traffic through third-party access points. However, the access point owners (APOs) would need proper incentives to participate in data offloading. In this paper, we consider a data offloading market that includes both price-taking and price-setting APOs. We formulate the interactions among the MNO and these two types of APOs as a three-stage Stackelberg game, and study the MNO’s profit maximization problem. Due to a non-convex strategy space, it is in general a non-convex game. Nevertheless, we transform the strategy space into a convex set and prove that a unique subgame perfect equilibrium exists. We further propose iterative algorithms for the MNO and price-setting APOs to obtain the equilibrium. Employing the proposed algorithms, the APOs do not need to obtain full information about the MNO and other APOs. Through numerical studies, we show that the MNO’s profit can increase up to three times comparing with the no-offloading case. Furthermore, our proposed incentive mechanism outperforms an existing algorithm by 18 percent in terms of the MNO’s profit. Results further show that price competition among price-setting APOs drives the equilibrium market prices down.

Due to the tremendous increase in mobile data traffic, there is a general trend toward the decentralization of mobile operator networks, at least to a certain extent. This shall be further facilitated with the virtualization of mobile network functions and the enabling of mobile cloud networking, whereby mobile networks are created on demand and in a flexible manner. Mobile network decentralization will not be efficient without rethinking mobility management schemes, particularly for users moving for a long distance and/or at a high speed (e.g., vehicles and bullet trains). To support such highly mobile users, this paper introduces: 1) a data anchor gateway (GW) relocation method based on user mobility, history information, and user activity patterns, and 2) a handover management policy that selects a target base station or evolved Node B (eNB) in a way to minimize mobility anchor GW relocation. The performance of the proposed schemes is evaluated via Markov model-based analysis and through simulations. Encouraging results are obtained, validating the design objectives of the scheme.