A Stackelberg game for resource allocation in multiuser cooperative transmission networks

Abstract

Abstract In this paper, we consider the problem of stimulating cooperation and resource allocation in cooperative transmission networks. We formulate this problem as a sellers' market competition where a relay is willing to share its resource with multiple users. We use a Stackelberg game to jointly consider the benefits of the relay and the users. Firstly, the relay determines the price of relaying according to the user demand. Secondly, the users purchase the optimal amount of resources to maximize their utilities. Although the Nash equilibrium, i.e., the solution of the game, can be obtained in a centralized manner, we develop a distributed algorithm to search the Nash equilibrium, which is more applicable in practical systems. Also, the convergence conditions of the algorithm are analyzed. Simulation results show, by using the distributed algorithm, the relay and the users could determine what price should ask for and how much bandwidth should buy, respectively. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.