Virtual Network Capacity Expansion through Service Outsourcing

Roaming agreements in 3G and beyond 3G networks can greatly enhance the delivery of services to end users. The cost of service delivery to the user depends on the price charged on networks traversed by user traffic. In a QoS DiffServ environment, network resources may be sold in aggregate blocks at wholesale prices to competing ISPs. This can influence the cost of delivering services between two points using access networks owned by competing operators. Demand for network services by users varies over time and network capacities are finite; thus a fully loaded network would reject new service requests and an underutilized network will become less productive. In this paper we explore a service outsourcing scheme between competing operators that allows a custodian network operating at full capacity to outsource service provision to a candidate network. Outsourcing would be price-influenced enabling the home (custodian) operator to levy local predictable charges to the end users for services offered on the visited network. This will virtually expand the capacity of the custodian network and boost incomes for both operators.