Thomas R. Casey

Simple rules for mobile network operators' strategic choices in future cognitive spectrum sharing networks

Spectrum sharing is becoming a necessity in future cellular networks due to the increasing traffic demand and challenges of getting exclusive spectrum. This article reviews the spectrum sharing framework that consists of regulatory, technology, and business domains. For future mobile network operators, sharing of spectrum with other operators or with other radiocommunication services - especially when using cognitive radio system technologies - is a disruptive change. Building on alternative spectrum sharing scenarios, this article discusses a set of Simple Rules for mobile network operators, both dominators and challengers, regarding spectrum sharing in future cognitive cellular networks. The Simple Rules provide a dynamic framework for both dominating and challenger mobile network operators for developing their sharing-based business models.

Value Network Configurations in wireless local area access

Rapidly growing demand for ubiquitous wireless access is presenting significant challenges to the scalability of the existing mobile wide area (WA) network infrastructure. This is increasing the importance of wireless local area (LA) access points (AP) and base stations (BS) residing in indoor locations. Uncertainty exists over who will control this, potentially very valuable part of the mobile service delivery infrastructure and there are many interested actors in position of coupling local area access to their existing platform. In this paper we conduct an analysis of possible Value Network Configurations (VNC) that could emerge around wireless local area access. We construct seven alternative Value Network Configurations by identifying important roles related to wireless local area access provisioning, the corresponding drivers and actors in position of taking on these roles. The identification and description of these configurations clarifies the different possible evolution paths for wireless local area access provisioning and acts as a basis for the design of corresponding future technologies and regulatory policies.

Systems Dynamics Approach to Analyzing Spectrum Management Policies for Mobile Broadband Services in India

Demand for wireless data and Internet services are expected to grow exponentially, both in advanced and emerging markets in the near future. While advanced countries have often used centralized planning and coordination methodology to forecast and allocate the associated spectrum blocks to wireless operators for meeting the demand, it is often ad-hoc in emerging markets dictated by market forces. In this paper, we construct a casual model to represent the different variables that affect spectrum management practices and highlight possible paths forward. Using the causal model structure, we hypothesize that emerging countries with their unique market structure and legacy of spectrum management are better suited to create active secondary markets. We cite early market indicators in India such as the adoption of national roaming by the wireless broadband operators and the use of multi-SIM handsets by subscribers that tend to support our hypothesis. Specific sections of the draft National Telecom Policy 2011 are also highlighted for policy inclusion.

Evolution of Wireless Access Provisioning: A Systems Thinking Approach

In this paper we examine the evolution and dynamics of value systems around GSM based mobile communications and Wi-Fi based wireless local area access. Drawing basis from value system modeling and systems thinking research a holistic framework, describing the underlying structures and dynamics of a value system at different stages and levels of service production, is created and used retrospectively to model the evolution of GSM based mobile communications and Wi-Fi based wireless local area access. The analysis based on the framework highlights that an important factor in the widespread diffusion of GSM and Wi-Fi has been the structural fit of the business and technology architectures as well as the alignment and synchronization of the different stages of service production and markets. The analysis also shows how the value systems around GSM and Wi-Fi follow distinctly different dynamics and evolution paths and how they are on a colliding course.

Examining Possible Value System Transitions: The Case of Smart Mobility Services

The application of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) to mobility has produced a wide range of smart mobility services. These services have been deployed either as large, vertically integrated solutions driven by governments or as fragmented initiatives by competing companies and consortia. Lack of open approaches has restricted the diffusion of these services. In this paper we explore two possible paths for how the value systems around smart mobility services could transition from a closed model to an open model. We use a framework and two case examples from prior research [1] to study these transitions in either centralized or decentralized path. We aim to address the potential conflicts in the evolution of smart mobility services especially from the European perspective.

Towards a market mechanism for heterogeneous secondary spectrum usage: An evolutionary approach

Most research assume a clean slate approach towards the emergence of secondary spectrum markets. Additionally markets are typically designed with an underlying assumption of participating actors being homogeneous (i.e. using similar wireless architecture). In contrast with above we take an evolutionary approach when designing our market mechanism towards heterogeneous secondary usage of the radio spectrum. The evolution of trading markets is reflected in the incremental steps used in our research, i.e. starting from Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11) capacity markets, followed by super Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11af) capacity markets and finally TV White Spaces (TVWS) spectrum leasing markets. We study the market mechanisms across a heterogeneous set of actors involving both wide area (WA) and local area (LA) operators and focus on creating a win-win scenario for all the participating entities. We make use of literature review and Value Network Configuration (VNC) methodology for illustrating the design of market mechanism and further evaluate the designed mechanism using Agent Based Modeling (ABM). Based on our simulation results we observe that a generic trade-off exist between the length of lease time, trade facilitation cost and the extent of trading activity within the markets. We also observe that there exists an optimal range of lease time for which all the market players find themselves in economically favourable situation. We compare super Wi-Fi capacity markets and TVWS spectrum leasing markets over performance of MOs and TV broadcasters to conclude that a local area strategy seems better suited and more efficient to be adopted for TVWS usage.

Value analysis of centralized and distributed communications and video streaming

Purpose – When comparing novel centralized and distributed communications and video streaming services, the authors identified a need for a theoretic framework to position a multitude of ICT services and technologies according to their value proposition. Literature does not integrate existing value analysis concepts into a holistic theoretical framework. This paper aims to address this shortcoming by proposing a value analysis framework for ICT services capable of describing the value exchanges between different actors and their role constellations based on technological componentizations.Design/methodology/approach – The paper evaluates a representative selection of communications and video streaming services and an extensive literature study on existing value analysis research was conducted to develop the framework and to verify it.Findings – The paper demonstrates the applicability of the value analysis framework in communications and video streaming case studies, which are technically very different f...

Value system evolution towards a Cognitive Radio era: Implications of underlying market dynamics

This paper explores the possibilities of how the value system around wireless networks could be organized in the future and what would be the underlying market dynamics given the introduction of Cognitive Radio and Dynamic Spectrum Access technologies. Using a combination of systems thinking tools and platform theory four value system configurations around the future radio platform are introduced and the corresponding underlying dynamics are characterized. Based on this a feedback model using system dynamics and agent based modeling is built, configured with historical market data and used to evaluate future evolution possibilities both for GSM based mobile cellular and Wi-Fi based wireless local area radio platform paths. The results show how the value system could continue on established evolution paths but also how it could transition to a so called complex adaptive system. Furthermore, for policy makers, the results point out threats of winner-takes-all and fragmentation type of scenarios, and highlight the possible importance of aligning the underlying market dynamics with the natural allocation and assignment cycle of spectrum frequency bands.

Evolution toward an open value system for smart mobility services: The case of Finland

The markets around transport and mobility are undergoing significant changes. One of the central drivers for these changes is the deployment of information and communications technology throughout the transport system, which in turn enables a wide range of smart mobility services. At the moment, however, smart mobility services are rather fragmented and work in isolated silos. A key issue in future development is how these isolated systems will become interconnected and in general more open. In this article, we apply the framework introduced by Ali-Vehmas and Casey (2012) to model how the evolution toward an open value system for smart mobility services could occur in Finland. In particular, we apply analogies from the emergence of GSM-based mobile networks and the Internet where the former has followed a more centralized path and the latter a more decentralized path.1