Title" "Spectrum Sharing Games"

Author: Randy Berry (joint work with J. Huang and M. Honig)

Abstract:

In wireless networks a key consideration is how to mitigate interference 
among multiple users in a given spectrum band. This is especially true in
unlicensed or open bands, where users may be deployed without any 
centralized frequency planning or control. In this talk, we describe some
simple mathematical models for sharing a given spectrum band. We discuss 
both a case where a spectrum manager controls access and a case where there 
is no manager and users implement a distributed algorithm to manage access. 
In the first case, we describe an auction mechanisms where the users bid for 
spectrum access. We model this auction as a game and characterize the 
equilibrium. In the second case, we discuss a distributed algorithm, in 
which users announce "price" signals which indicate the cost of interference 
to them. We relate this algorithm to a "fictitious" game, which in certain 
cases is supermodular. This relation is used to characterize the algorithms 
convergence. Extensions to multi-channel networks will also be discussed, 
where users can allocate their power over multiple frequency bands, as in a 
OFDM system.