Expanding Cellular Network Capacity with Multi-Network Access

Traditionally, a cell phone remains on a single primary mobile network operator (MNO) as long as it is available, and uses another MNO only when the primary is unavailable and a roaming agreement exists. Multi-network access (MNA), where a cell phone can use any one of multiple MNOs at any point in space and time, can greatly increase cellular network capacity. This paper investigates how much MNA can improve cellular network capacity in the context of a multi-operator mobile virtual network operator (MO-MVNO), such as Google's Project Fi, and explores how the capacity gain varies with the MNOs' resource allocation scheme, and the MO-MVNO's market share and MNO selection algorithm. Simulations show that MNA can expand cellular network capacity by as much as 80% without additional spectrum or infrastructure. Resource allocation schemes affect both total capacity gain and how the gain is shared among operators. We also show that an MNO selection algorithm that is rational for an individual MO-MVNO subscriber can hurt the overall performance of both the MO-MVNO and MNOs.