On game theoretic rate-maximizing packet scheduling in non-cooperative wireless networks

In many practical scenarios, wireless devices are autonomous and thus, may exhibit non-cooperative behaviors due to self-interests. For instance, a wireless user may report bogus channel information in order to gain resource allocation advantages. In this paper, we analyzed the impact of these rationally selfish and non-cooperative behaviors on the performance of packet scheduling algorithms in time-slotted wireless networks. Using a mixed strategy game theoretic model, we found that the traditional rate maximizing packet scheduling algorithms can lead noncooperative devices to undesirable Nash equilibria, in which the wireless channel is used inefficiently. Motivated by this observation, we proposed a novel game theoretic scheduling approach that can lead to more efficient equilibria where all competing devices can achieve higher rates.