Techno-economic framework for dynamic operator selection in a multi-tier heterogeneous network

Tremendous growth of the mobile network market driven by technology evolution requires a corresponding paradigm shift of the economic aspects of mobile networks. The high heterogeneity and flexibility of 5G mobile networks have led operators to shift their business models towards an open spectrum market. In this paper, we first introduce a comprehensive techno-economic framework to investigate a heterogeneous network (HetNet) that consists of two operators: a macro cell operator and a small cell operator, operating in conditions of an open spectrum market. Both operators coexist in such a way that the small cell operator leases the spectrum from the macro cell operator. In contrast to other similar studies, in our framework, we apply the concept of evolutionary stable equilibrium (ESE), which provides some level of intuition to the behaviour of the operators. In addition, we implement the method of dynamic service selection by the end users based on a utility function, which is sensitive to both the service price and the expected throughput. To analyse the techno-economic performance of the system, we develop a real-world simulation model that encompasses a 3D urban environment using real network topology from the OpenCellID database; this model includes a large number of end users with realistic mobility patterns. The simulation results show that, from the user's perspective, the network switching mode provides better service at a lower price due to high market competition. From the view of the operator, the most profitable mode is the static contract because there is stable service demand regardless of the price. The multi-homing mode is a promising intermediate solution that can satisfy both the end users and the operators.