The purpose of this paper is to present a vision for future mobile and wireless networks. The vision, which we call Networks without Borders (NwoB), is based on a market-place of virtual network operators which construct networks from a pool of shared resources (e.g. basestations, spectrum, core network components, cloud resources, processing capabilities etc.). The resources will be sourced from traditional industry players as well as crowdsourced from individuals. The paper describes this approach from a value-chain perspective. The proposed value-chain is substantially different from the value-chain models that are currently used to illustrate mobile and wireless networks. The economic imperatives and innovation drivers for this approach are discussed. Early work showing the promise of this vision is presented. This work focuses on diverse examples which advocate the removal of traditional and historical restrictions on spectrum and infrastructure and move towards more dynamic use of shared resources. In the first example we look at how frequency-division-duplexing (FDD) and time-divisionduplexing (TDD) restrictions on spectrum usage can be relaxed; we remove the borders between TDD and FDD. In the second example we look at the aggregation and pooling of corporate infrastructure which uses exclusive spectrum and removes the borders between different mobile operators. Finally we look at the aggregation of user-deployed or crowdsourced infrastructure that opportunistically uses spectrum and removes the borders between independently deployed hotspots. These are starting points and the full realization of the vision will involve more dynamic access to spectrum and more extensive sharing of infrastructure. Hence, the final part of the paper describes the resulting research challenges.

Abstract-The focus of this paper is to progress a discussion about the redefinition of what it means to be a cellular network operator. Alternative modes of ownership may allow for the creation of more flexible cellular networking environments in which competition for packages of resources, i.e. the licenced spectrum, the RAN and core network, ensures that the most efficient architectures win out. This paper introduces the concept of the Cellular Network Cloud and Utility Cellular Networking as a means to explore the possibilities for such revolution in the way in which cellular networks are owned and operated. As a step towards evaluating the technical feasibility of such a paradigm, a flexible auction model that enables us to auction spectrum as a continuous good, as opposed to a collection of discrete items, is presented.

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Abstract-Mobile network operators are facing the difficult task of significantly increasing capacity to meet projected demand while keeping CAPEX and OPEX down. We argue that infrastructure sharing is a key consideration in operators' planning of the evolution of their networks, and that such planning can be viewed as a stage in the cognitive cycle. In this paper, we present a framework to model this planning process while taking into account both the ability to share resources and the constraints imposed by competition regulation (the latter quantified using the Herfindahl index). Using real-world demand and deployment data, we find that the ability to share infrastructure essentially moves capacity from rural, sparsely populated areas (where some of the current infrastructure can be decommissioned) to urban ones (where most of the next-generation base stations would be deployed), with significant increases in resource efficiency. Tight competition regulation somewhat limits the ability to share but does not entirely jeopardize those gains, while having the secondary effect of encouraging the wider deployment of next-generation technologies.

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