Distributed Uplink Power Control in Multiservice Wireless Networks via a Game Theoretic Approach with Convex Pricing

In this paper, the problem of efficient distributed power control via convex pricing of users´ transmission power in the uplink of CDMA wireless networks supporting multiple services is addressed. Each user is associated with a nested utility function, which appropriately represents his degree of satisfaction in relation to the expected trade-off between his QoS-aware actual uplink throughput performance and the corresponding power consumption. Initially, a Multiservice Uplink Power Control game (MSUPC) is formulated, where each user aims selfishly at maximizing his utility-based performance under the imposed physical limitations and its unique Nash equilibrium point is determined. Then the inefficiency of MSUPC game´s Nash equilibrium is proven and a usage-based convex pricing policy of the transmission power is introduced, which offers a more effective approach compared to the linear pricing schemes that have been adopted in the literature. Consequently, a Multiservice Uplink Power Control game with Convex Pricing (MSUPC-CP) is formulated and its unique Pareto optimal Nash equilibrium is determined. A distributed iterative algorithm for computing MSUPC-CP game´s equilibrium is proposed, while the overall approach´s efficiency is illustrated via modeling and simulation.