VCG auction based optimal allocation for scalable video communication in 4G WiMAX

In this paper, we propose a novel application of the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) auction based time-frequency resource allocation for H.264 SVC based scalable video transmission in 4G wireless systems. The net transmitted video quality corresponding to the given bitrate constrained wireless system can be maximized by optimally allocating the OFDMA time-frequency resources amongst the video streams requested by the different unicast/ multicast groups. However, such a centralized allocation is susceptible to subversion resulting from misrepresentation of the characteristic video parameters by malicious users. This, in addition to resulting in a degradation of the net video quality, might also benefit the users reporting incorrect parameter values through disproportionate resource allocation. Our simulation results demonstrate that application of the proposed VCG procedure maximizes the net utility in broadcast/ multicast video streaming when true characteristic parameters are reported, while punishing malicious users when one or more parameters are misreported.