To address the scarcity of spectrum, FCC mandated the dynamic sharing of spectrum among the diffe... more To address the scarcity of spectrum, FCC mandated the dynamic sharing of spectrum among the different tiers of users. The success of spectrum sharing, however, relies on the automated enforcement of spectrum policies. We focus on ex post spectrum enforcement during/after the occurrence of a potentially harmful event, but before/after an actual harm has occurred. The major challenges addressed by us are to ensure maximum channel coverage in a given region of enforcement, accurate and reliable detection of enforcement, and selection of an efficient algorithm to select entities for detection of violation. We adopt a crowdsourced methodology to monitor spectrum usage. We ensure maximum coverage of the given area by dividing it into equal-sized regions and solve the enforcement problem by a divide and conquer mechanism over the entire region. We use a variant of the Multiple Choice Secretary algorithm to select volunteers. We finally simulate the enforcement framework and analyze the res...
In many cases, standards have public goods attributes. As a result, it is important t o consider ... more In many cases, standards have public goods attributes. As a result, it is important t o consider how the development costs are provided. It is well known that public goods, due to their non-exclusionary nature, are subject to free riders. In this paper, we consider free ridership in standardization in general, and examine the case of one standard, IEEE 802.3i (10BaseT) in particular. We show that free-ridership existed in the development of the 10BaseT standard and in the subsequent product market by specifying the criteria for the existence of free-ridership and by providing the necessary data to show that such an issue actually exists. We discuss the consequences of free ridership and consider the implications for the standards development process in general.
Proceedings of GLOBECOM'96. 1996 IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference
There is a pressing need for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) traffic measurements to validate/ve... more There is a pressing need for Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) traffic measurements to validate/verify a large number of simulation and analytical studies of ATM networks. In this paper, results from a measurement study of traffic on a wide area ATM network, the very High Speed Backbone Network Service (vBNS) network are reported. We illustrate how the traffic characteristics change as the traffic traverses the network and the statistical behavior of wide area ATM traffic. Also, we comment on the validity of a few theoretical assumptions made by other research, offering empirical evidence to support these comments.
Cooperative Spectrum sharing can be thought of as a reorganization of rights between stakeholders... more Cooperative Spectrum sharing can be thought of as a reorganization of rights between stakeholders [2]. The principal stakeholders are the Primary User (PU), who holds the spectrum license, and the Secondary User(s) who uses the spectrum temporarily. Any rights management system requires a set of strategies and technologies to enforce the rights [3]; the timing of the enforcement action (ex-ante and ex-post) also plays a significant role [4]. The cooperative spectrum sharing approaches that have been proposed by the NTIA emphasize ex-ante actions, which are designed to prevent a PU's signal from harmful interference that could occur by the SU [1, 5]. A comprehensive enforcement framework would include protecting the rights of the SU in addition to having an ex post component that can efficiently and effectively adjudicate claims of interference. Determining the role of ex-post enforcement in a spectrum sharing scheme is of significant importance since cooperative spectrum sharing will without doubt result in interference events. To evaluate the role of the ex-post enforcement approach, a hypothetical scenario of using the recommended protection zones and the involved entities will be used to analyze the current enforcement timing measures and to evaluate the usage of ex-post-only enforcement measures. The hypothetical scenario concerns about the behaviors of the SUs, if SU-mobile devices transmitting near PU-base station or transmitting with high power signal within the protection zone. This behavior will cause harmful interference to the PU signal and data received by the PU will be lost. To guarantee SU behavior the suggested ex-ante and ex-post enforcement measures will be explained and analyzed. Then, ex-post-only enforcement measures will be applied to this scenario and analyzed. The purpose of analyzing the expost-only enforcement measures is to evaluate how these measures might work, and what the limits are on their effectiveness.
Grid service providers (GSPs), in commercial grids, improve their profitability by maintaining th... more Grid service providers (GSPs), in commercial grids, improve their profitability by maintaining the least possible set of resources to meet client demand. Their goal is to maximize profits by optimizing resource planning. In order to achieve such goal, they require feedback from clients to estimate demand for their service. The objective of this research is to develop an approach to build a useful value profile for a collection of heterogeneous grid clients. For developing the approach, we use binary feedback as the theoretical framework to build the value profile, which can be used as a proxy for a demand function that represents client's willingness-to-pay for grid resources. However, clients may require incentives to provide feedback and deterrents from selfish behavior, such as misrepresenting their true preferences to obtain superior services at lower costs. To address this concern, we use credibility mechanisms to detect untruthful feedback and penalize insincere or biased clients. We also use game theory to study how the cooperation can emerge. In this dissertation, we propose the use of credibility-based binary feedback to build value profiles, which GSPs can use to plan their resources economically. The use of value profiles aims to benefit both GSPs and clients, and helps to accelerate an adoption of commercial grids. v TABLE OF CONTENTS
NETNOMICS: Economic Research and Electronic Networking, 2008
Wireless communication relies on access to the radiocommunications spectrum. A series of high-pri... more Wireless communication relies on access to the radiocommunications spectrum. A series of high-priced spectrum auctions has indicated that there is a scarcity or an inefficient use of spectrum resources. This paper presents an Agent-based Computational Economics (ACE) model designed to study the secondary use spectrum market, which improves spectrum usage by allowing incumbent spectrum users to lease unused portions of their assigned spectrum to third parties who could put them to a better use. In this paper, we are particularly interested in the conditions under which such a market is likely to emerge.
International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2010
This paper analyses optimal pricing of two different platforms of broadband mobile internet acces... more This paper analyses optimal pricing of two different platforms of broadband mobile internet access where one provider uses third generation (3G) and the other WiFi. The authors utilised a game theoretic competition model considering population density, user's preference for bandwidth and coverage, user's willingness-to-pay, the number of hot-spots, cost structure of deployment, and market penetration rate. The authors used both simulation and computation methods to find the market equilibrium point. Through the equilibrium analysis, the authors found that the 3G network is more profitable as WiFi coverage percentage increases, and 3G is more favourable in higher density areas.
Abstract: New technologies can have a significant impact on what we teach and what we do in an iS... more Abstract: New technologies can have a significant impact on what we teach and what we do in an iSchool. In this paper, I describe how a new infrastructure option has emerged for information systems and services. The FCC's “White Spaces” decision involved a large segment of what used to be the NII (National Information Infrastructure) community, a community of considerable affinity to iSchools. In this paper, I argue that this decision is of broad interest to iSchools because:(1) it is a case study that highlights how policy ...
Local Number Portability LNP is a de facto requirement in most countries that are encouraging a c... more Local Number Portability LNP is a de facto requirement in most countries that are encouraging a competitive infrastructure. This requirement, written into Sections 251 and 271 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 in the US, has been studied by various agencies in the UK since the early to mid 1990s, and was part of the telecommunications reform legislation in Australia. In addition, the EU is proposing that LNP be required for major population centers by 2003. The technical solutions to implementing this vary by country, ...
The evolution of the Internet as an important communications infrastructure for the public and th... more The evolution of the Internet as an important communications infrastructure for the public and the convergence of various network services and applications over the Internet have been intensifying the demand for QoS-support in the Internet. The main goal of QoS-support in the Internet is to provide assured network performance relative to the various applications' needs at reasonable incremental cost as compared with a best-effort network in a way that is scalable.
Abstract: There have been a small number of cost studies of Voice over IP (VoIP) in the academic ... more Abstract: There have been a small number of cost studies of Voice over IP (VoIP) in the academic literature. Generally, they have been for abstract networks, have not been focused on the public switched telephone network, or they have not included the operating costs. This paper presents the operating cost portion of our ongoing research project comparing circuit-switched and IP network costs for an existing local exchange carrier.
Abstract: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the internet, DARPA launched the Network Chal... more Abstract: In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the internet, DARPA launched the Network Challenge to explore issues related to social networking, collaboration, and trust. The iSchools viewed this as an excellent opportunity to achieve multiple goals:(1) to conduct a collaborative research project of interests across multiple iSchools,(2) to enhance the visibility of the iSchools,(3) to collect data for future research regarding social networking and extreme events, whether they occur in the physical space or in the cyber space,(4) to ...
DSA research must explicitly consider the perspective of secondary users. This paper considers th... more DSA research must explicitly consider the perspective of secondary users. This paper considers the spatiotemporal properties of spectrum holes as they impact the secondary user's communications needs. Like Weiss et.al. [1], this paper develops a taxonomy of spectrum holes from the point of view of the secondary user. Each type of spectrum hole is analyzed for the kinds of communications requirements that can be supported, illustrated, where possible, by existing measurement data. The analysis concludes that a secondary user's ability to meet their communications need varies considerably. More detailed analysis of the spatio-temporal density of spectrum holes would be necessary to further quantify these conclusions.
2010 IEEE Symposium on New Frontiers in Dynamic Spectrum (DySPAN), 2010
The cognitive radio literature generally assumes that the functions required for non-cooperative ... more The cognitive radio literature generally assumes that the functions required for non-cooperative secondary DSA are integrated into a single radio system. It need not be so. In this paper, we model cognitive radio functions as a value chain and explore the implications of different forms of organization of this value chain. We initially explore the consequences of separating the sensing function from other cognitive radio functions.
Recent studies have forecasted major growth in mobile broadband traffic. Due to the predicted hig... more Recent studies have forecasted major growth in mobile broadband traffic. Due to the predicted high growth rate of mobile broadband traffic over the coming years (demand), there is a need for more wireless network capacity (supply). One of the major approaches to expand mobile wireless capacity is to add more spectrum to the market by enabling "spectrum sharing". The FCC has issued many reports indicating that the US is dangerously close to running out of capacity for mobile data, which is why the FCC and the NTIA have been working continually to enable spectrum sharing. Spectrum sharing has moved from being a radical notion to a principal policy focus in the past decade. Enabling spectrum sharing regimes means that sharing agreements must be implemented. To have meaning, those agreements must be enforceable. The focus of this paper is to determine the relationship between enforcement methodologies and benefits of spectrum sharing through sharing between government and commercial users. Sharing between the government incumbents (i.e. Federal or non-Federal agencies) and commercial wireless broadband operators/users is one of the key forms of spectrum sharing that is recommended by the NTIA, the FCC, and the PCAST report. To address this problem, we build a model to quantitatively examine the relationships between different enforcement scenarios and sharing benefits. We model two case studies, 1695-1710 MHz band and 3550-3650 MHz band.
Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, 2016
There has been considerable discussion surrounding the barriers to spectrum sharing in the litera... more There has been considerable discussion surrounding the barriers to spectrum sharing in the literature. Among those is the`trust gap' that exists, according to the PCAST report. Trust is a complex human construct that signicantly includes risk. In this paper, we examine the risks faced by the dierent user classes proposed by the FCC for sharing in the 3.5 GHz band. We argue that the invisible hands of spectrum sharing in this band is the balance between spectrum sharing gain and associated risks. We nd that both gains and risks can be linked to the distance between incumbents' systems and Citizen Broadband Radio Services (CBRS)' systems. The risk portfolio is linked to spectrum rights that each tier has, since the rights they have determine risks and risk mitigation strategies. We further propose a model to calculate spectrum sharing utilities for dierent tiers. The optimized utility determines the distance between incumbents and CBRS systems.
Telecommunication regulators are facing increasing pressure to make spectrum resources more widel... more Telecommunication regulators are facing increasing pressure to make spectrum resources more widely available to new wireless services and providers. In spectrum trading markets, buyers and sellers determine the assignments of spectrum and, possibly, its uses. These markets are being considered or implemented by the regulatory bodies of many countries as a way to provide increasing efficiency in the use of spectrum and attend the demand for this resource. This work describes a classification for the implementation of spectrum trading markets and a way to model them and identify the conditions for their viability. Specifically, we make use of Agent-Based Computational Economics (ACE) to model the participants in these markets, analyze the behaviors that emerge from the interactions of its participants and determine the conditions for viable markets. Our results, provide guidelines that can be used by regulators and wireless service providers for the design and implementation of these ...
2013 IEEE 14th International Conference on Information Reuse & Integration (IRI), 2013
Dynamic spectrum access (DSA), where the permission to use slices of radio spectrum is dynamicall... more Dynamic spectrum access (DSA), where the permission to use slices of radio spectrum is dynamically shifted (in time an in different geographical areas) across various communications services and applications, has been an area of interest from technical and public policy perspectives over the last decade. The underlying belief is that this will increase spectrum utilization, especially since many spectrum bands are relatively unused, ultimately leading to the creation of new and innovative services that exploit the increase in spectrum availability. Determining whether a slice of spectrum, allocated or licensed to a primary user, is available for use by a secondary user at a certain time and in a certain geographic area is a challenging task. This requires "context information" which is critical to the operation of DSA. Such context information can be obtained in several ways, with different costs, and different quality/usefulness of the information. In this paper, we describe the challenges in obtaining this context information, the potential for the integration of various sources of context information, and the potential for reuse of such information for related and unrelated purposes such as localization and enforcement of spectrum sharing. Since some of the infrastructure for obtaining finegrained context information is likely to be expensive, the reuse of this infrastructure/information and integration of information from less expensive sources are likely to be essential for the economical and technological viability of DSA.
Markets for spectrum were first proposed by Ronald Coase [1] as a way to efficiently allocate thi... more Markets for spectrum were first proposed by Ronald Coase [1] as a way to efficiently allocate this resource. It took another forty years for primary markets to be developed (in the form of spectrum auctions) as the mechanism for assigning spectrum licenses to users. It is not a secret that secondary markets would be necessary to fully realize the benefits of economic allocation of spectrum. But this is easier said than done, since spectrum is a complex, multi-dimensional product with relatively few buyers and sellers (at least for commercial mobile services), so liquid secondary markets have not emerged, even though spectrum trading through brokers is commonplace. In this paper, we find that liquidity for spectrum markets can be improved over "naked" spectrum markets [2, 3] when a standardized commodity can be traded that uses the principles of spectrum virtualization [4]. We utilize the Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) of LTE-Advanced as the traded commodity and modify the SPEC-TRAD model developed in [5] accordingly. Though much remains to be done, we find that this is a promising approach to finally realizing liquid secondary markets in radio spectrum. 1 Federal Communications Commission Policy Statement in the matter of Principles for Promoting the Efficient Use of Spectrum by Encouraging the Development of Secondary Markets. p.1.
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Papers by Martin Weiss