Signaling Requirements for Smart Dynamic Pricing in Cellular Networks

Smart pricing is a dynamic pricing scheme which varies price in response to the relative scarcity of network resources and has been developed by a team including the authors to be implemented on 3G mobile telecommunications networks. This paper analyses the necessary signaling requirements and proposes a signaling model for smart pricing. In this model, a new network element called dynamic pricing engine is proposed. This element is responsible for setting tariffs depending on the level of congestion in a cell and specifies the quality of service required. Simulations have yielded relationships between the arrival rates for multiple services (such as voice calls and video conferencing) and signaling load. We are also able to estimate how much of that signaling volume results in billable events (so-called cost-recoverable signaling) versus signaling which does not, such as abandoned call attempts (cost non-recoverable signaling) over a range of traffic volumes.