To subscribe , or not to subscribe : The analysis of new service paradigms in cellular markets FORTH - ICS TR 424 , AUGUST 2011

Traditionally customers subscribe to specific operators/providers and are served by accessing base stations (BSs) of the network of their operator. Often subscribers with relatively “high” usage pattern and data-rate requirements are subsidized by the ones with lower usage and data-rates. As the cognitive radio technology advances, an even more diverse set of services will be available. This paper introduces a novel service paradigm the flexi-card or card that allows a customer with a cognitive radio to dynamically access base stations (BSs) of different infrastructures and operators based on various criteria, such as its profile, network conditions, and offered prices. Card customers can select the appropriate operator and BS on a percall basis. This work considers a diverse customer population based on their demand, their preference on data-rate over price, their tolerance on the blocking probabilities of their calls, and their willingness to pay for certain services. Customers could dynamically decide to buy a long-term subscription or become card users. In this paper, we develop a modeling of this market and analyze its evolution, focusing on whether this new paradigm can improve the quality of service, social welfare, flexibility and further enhance the competition among providers. The main contribution of this paper is a detailed modeling and an in-depth performance analysis of a complex market, in which various parameters manifest in different spatial and temporal scales, with a diverse customer population, from the perspective of clients, operators, and regulators, demonstrating the benefits of the card service paradigm, and comparing it to markets that offer only subscription contracts.