Game theory for future IEEE 802.11 spectrum sharing

Abstract

This article describes one of many possible paradigms for future wireless applications. The spectrum in which Wi-Fi operates these days is overcrowded and currently applied rules for Wi-Fi operation are not up-to-date. By adopting a new set of rules for Wi-Fi, it is possible to eliminate some of the currently defined constraints such as Equivalent (Effective) Isotropic Radiated Power limitation (EIRP) or widely used Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) channel access mechanism. As it is known, behavior of Wi-Fi device might affect the nearby operating neighboring device, because the channels are shared between multiple sets of wireless devices, degrading the total network performance as well as creating stability issues. In order to bypass both of these limitations and lighten the constraints for Wi-Fi devices, there is a need for a new way of defined interactions between wireless devices. Game theory can be described as a set of tools to model Wi-Fi devices interactions in highly dynamic environment. By applying game theory it is possible to evaluate various interactions between neighboring devices and to create a new set of rules on how they operate. This methodology would let us solve resource allocation problems in unlicensed frequency band and improve spectrum sharing between devices. Within this article we proposed game theory model that brings clear benefits beyond the confines of solely Wi-Fi technology. By employing game theory models we can control the spectrum sharing interactions between devices as well as other channel usage interactions between Wi-Fi devices, thus enabling more efficient usage of currently limited unlicensed band spectrum.