Auction Mechanisms for Virtualization in 5G Cellular Networks: Basics, Trends, and Open Challenges

Wireless network virtualization (WNV) is considered as a reliable and effective solution to enhance the capacity and resource utilization in emerging 5G cellular wireless networks. WNV supports network sharing and multi-tenancy by allowing application or service providers with limited resources to lease network resources from mobile network operators. Several works in the literature surveyed various aspects of resource allocation and network slicing methods to implement virtualization in wireless networks. In this paper, we focus on economic aspects of WNV and study auction theory as a fundamental tool for designing business models for virtualization of wireless networks, 5G cellular networks in particular. Starting with the concept of WNV in 5G cellular networks, we describe the basic principles and solution approaches in auction theory for heterogeneous and multi-commodity scenarios. Subsequently, we review the recent advances in WNV based on auction models. We conclude by outlining the open challenges and future research directions related to applications of auctions in WNV.

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