Improving QoS in multi-operator cellular networks

Providing high quality network access is challenging for network operators in the current static model used for allocating the spectrum of frequencies. Dealing with this challenge demands optimized resources allocation. One of the ways of providing this optimization is by allowing resources sharing among network operators which share the same geographical area. To allow and control the sharing of resources in such network scenarios, in this paper, a multilevel broker is presented to allow network operators to share their underutilized resources. This broker dynamically establishes a service level agreement that takes into account the quality of service requirements of the resources renters. A performance evaluation conducted in a scenario composed of multiple LTE-Advanced network operators shows that the implementation of the proposed architectures leads to more efficient allocation of underutilized network resources compared to two algorithms found in the literature.