Distributed Resource Allocation for Network Slicing Over Licensed and Unlicensed Bands

Abstract

Network slicing is considered one of the key enabling technologies for 5G due\nto its ability to customize and "slice" a common resource to support diverse\nservices and verticals.This paper introduces a novel inter-operator network\nslicing framework in which multiple mobile network operators (MNOs) can\ncoordinate and jointly slice their accessible spectrum resources in both\nlicensed and unlicensed bands. For licensed band slicing, we propose an\ninter-operator spectrum aggregation method that allows two or more MNOs to\ncooperate and share their licensed bands to support a common set of service\ntypes. We then consider the sharing of unlicensed bands. Because all MNOs enjoy\nequal rights to accessing these bands, we introduce the concept of right\nsharing for MNOs to share and trade their spectrum access rights. We develop a\n{\\em modified back-of-the-envelope (mBoE) method} for MNOs to evaluate their\n{\\em Value-of-Rights (VoR)} when coexisting with other wireless technologies. A\n{\\em network slicing game} based on the overlapping coalition formation game is\nformulated to investigate cooperation between MNOs. We prove that our proposed\ngame always has at least one stable slicing structure that maximizes the social\nwelfare. To implement our proposed framework without requiring MNOs to reveal\nprivate information to other MNOs, we develop a distributed algorithm called\nD-ADMM-PVS. Performance evaluation of our proposed framework is provided using\na discrete-event simulator that is driven by real MNO deployment scenarios\nbased on over 400 base station locations deployed by two primary cellular\noperators in the city of Dublin.Numerical results show that our proposed\nframework can almost double the capacity for all supported services for each\nMNO in an urban setting.\n