Competitive caching of contents in 5G edge cloud networks

Abstract

The surge of mobile data traffic forces network operators to cope with capacity shortage. The deployment of small cells in 5G networks shall increase radio access capacity. Mobile edge computing technologies can be used to manage dedicated cache memory at the edge of mobile networks. As a result, data traffic can be confined within the radio access network thus reducing latency, round-trip time and backhaul congestion. Such technique can be used to offer content providers premium connectivity services to enhance the quality of experience of their customers on the move. In this context, cache memory in the mobile edge network becomes a shared resource. We study a competitive caching scheme where contents are stored at a given price set by the mobile network operator. We first formulate a resource allocation problem for a tagged content provider seeking to minimize the expected missed cache rate. The optimal caching policy is derived accounting for popularity of contents, spatial distribution of small cells, and caching strategies of competing content providers. Next, we study a game among content providers in the form of a generalized non-smooth Kelly mechanism with bounded strategy sets and heterogeneous players. Existence and uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium are proved. Finally, numerical results validate and characterize the performance of the system.