| Speaker : | George Iosifidis |
| CERTH/ITI and University of Thessaly | |
| Date: | 19/06/2014 |
| Time: | 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm |
| Location: | LINCS Meeting Room 40 |
Abstract
The increasing mobile data demand and the proliferation of advanced handheld devices place the user-provided networks (UPNs) at a conspicuous position in next-generation network architectures. There has been growing consensus that UPNs can play a crucial role both in self-organizing and in operator-controlled wireless networks, as they enable the exploitation of the diverse communication needs and resources of different users. Today, many innovative startups such as Open Garden, M-87, and Karma, as well as major network operators such as Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, Comcast, and China Mobile Hong Kong, propose or even implement such models. However, in UPNs both the availability and the demand for Internet access rely on user-owned network equipment. Therefore, the success of this type of networks depends on the participation of users. In this talk, we analyze the design challenges of incentive mechanisms for encouraging user engagement in user-provided networks. Motivated by recently launched business models, we focus on mobile UPNs where the energy consumption and data usage costs are critical, and have a large impact on users’ decisions both for requesting and offering UPN services. We outline two novel incentive schemes that have been recently proposed for such UPNs, and discuss the open issues that must be further addressed.
Biography: George Iosifidis holds an Engineering Degree in Telecommunications (Greek Air Force Academy, 2000), a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. degree in communication networks (University of Thessaly, 2007 and 2012). Currently, he is a post-doc researcher at CERTH/ITI and University of Thessaly, Volos. His research interests lie at the nexus of network optimization and network economics, with emphasis on spectrum economics, autonomous networks, small cell networks, user-centric networks and mobile data offloading. More information can be found at www.georgeiosifidis.net