2nd International ICST Workshop on Game Theory in Communication Networks

Research Article

Game Theoretic Analysis of Wireless Access Network Selection: Models, Inefficiency Bounds, and Algorithms

  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/ICST.VALUETOOLS2008.4341,
        author={Matteo Cesana and Nicola Gatti and Ilaria Malanchini},
        title={Game Theoretic Analysis of Wireless Access Network Selection: Models, Inefficiency Bounds, and Algorithms},
        proceedings={2nd International ICST Workshop on Game Theory in Communication Networks},
        publisher={ACM},
        proceedings_a={GAMECOMM},
        year={2010},
        month={5},
        keywords={Congestion games network selection price-of-anarchy},
        doi={10.4108/ICST.VALUETOOLS2008.4341}
    }
    
  • Matteo Cesana
    Nicola Gatti
    Ilaria Malanchini
    Year: 2010
    Game Theoretic Analysis of Wireless Access Network Selection: Models, Inefficiency Bounds, and Algorithms
    GAMECOMM
    ICST
    DOI: 10.4108/ICST.VALUETOOLS2008.4341
Matteo Cesana1,*, Nicola Gatti1,*, Ilaria Malanchini1,*
  • 1: DEI, Politecnico di Milano, piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, Milano, Italy
*Contact email: cesana@elet.polimi.it, ngatti@elet.polimi.it, malanchini@elet.polimi.it

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of network selection, which arises when wireless mobile users can choose among multiple available wireless access networks to connect to. In particular, we are interested in studying the dynamics of the competition among different selfish mobile users which operate the network selection with the goal of minimizing their own selection cost. To this extent, we formalize the problem as a non-cooperative game, and we study the quality of the corresponding Nash equilibria under three expressions for the users' selection cost by deriving tight analytical bounds on the price-of-anarchy and the price-of-stability for the games. Finally, we introduce a mathematical programming formulation for the games which allows one to compute the equilibria in realistic wireless access network topologies.