A cost model for radio access data networks

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use basic economic theory to examine the relation between the demanded data traffic and the network costs for several network deployment scenarios and find the most preferable deployment strategy subject to specific constraints in near future (2015-2020). Design/methodology/approach – The paper identifies the cost structure of radio access networks and explicitly models the network costs as a function of data traffic, both in the short-run (current network) and in the long-run (future capacity expansion scenarios). In the short-run model, the operating cost of the current network is calculated, highlighting the energy cost and its dynamics. In the long-run model, assuming unchanged site infrastructure, the cost analysis provides information for decision-making on network evolution. Findings – The results show that the operating cost does not differ significantly from short- to long-run, and the energy cost constitutes a small but remarkable share (around 7 per cent) of total network operating cost. In addition, the paper concludes that the best strategy is not the most cost-efficient strategy but the one which meet the coverage requirements imposed by the regulator when the spectrum is allocated to operators. Finally, the speed of investments in urban regions is driven by the traffic growth, whereas in suburban and rural regions, it is driven by the regulator’s intervention. Originality/value – The paper contributes to the improvement of cost modeling for techno-economics by using economic theory and analyzing the energy consumption. In addition, the paper investigates real cases for mobile operators, and provides useful information for decision-making in network evolution.

Techno-economic Assessment in Communications: Models for Access Network Technologies

“…As stated before, [12] As a result of the mentioned spread effect, more proprietary models arise such as [65], [66], [67], [TS13] and [SIL13] for optical networks, [31], [68], [69], [70] [6], [71] and [72] for deployment of broadband in rural areas, [36] comparing FTTH and HFC DOCSIS 3.0, [4] for hybrid networks FiWi (Fixed-Wireless) which particularly distinguishes between investors and lenders related to financial agents. Reference [43] to deploy LTE networks in Finland, models power consumption of radio access data networks as a function of data traffic to deploy wireless access points [73]. Studies are also published based on the TONIC and ECOSYS models for specific scenarios (e.g.…”

Value network analysis in a low-cost and affordable internet

“…We conduct cost modeling and analysis on the total cost of deployment for an urban 5G smart light pole network to assess the feasibility of small cell technologies. Cost models for radio access networks typically consider numerous production factors to estimate capital expenses (CAPEX) and operational expenses (OPEX), including network construction and operation (Katsigiannis and Smura, 2015). The employed method only focuses on the main production factors affecting deployment cost, given the studied solution's novelty and the lack of reference solutions.…”

The Impact of Mobile Offloading on Energy Consumption and Capacity of Radio Access Networks – Case of Finland

“…1. It is an improved version of the models presented in [18][19] and it runs in parallel with the short-run presented in [20]. More specifically, the offloading model calculates the indoor traffic, which has an impact on the average load factor of macro cells.…”

“…By substituting the average load factor L off , the power consumption model presented in [20] now calculates the power consumption of the macro site, taking into account the offloading. The mathematical model is presented again for L off in (7).…”