An economic model for the radio resource management in multimedia wireless systems

In this paper, we study the connection between radio resource management (RRM) and economic parameters, whose application in multimedia communication system is a challenging task. In fact, a real network provider has to consider other parameters, besides the common goals of RRM like throughput maximisation or meeting constraints connected with the quality of service. In particular, when the financial needs of the provider and the reaction of the users to prices are taken into account, economics have to be introduced in the analysis. We intend to study multimedia communication systems by including well-known economic models and reasonable considerations in the usual radio resource allocation scenario. To do this, we present a model of users' satisfaction, which considers the effects of both users' request and price paid. In this way, it is possible to investigate the relationship between the radio resource allocation and the provider revenue. Other conclusions can be derived as well, e.g. for the pricing strategy planning or the network dimensioning. Thus, we give analytical insight and numerical results, which highlight that the network management is heavily affected by the economic scenario. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.