Abstract
We analyze the feasibility of providing Wireless Sensor Network-data-based services in an Internet of Things scenario from an economical point of view. The scenario has two competing service providers with their own private sensor networks, a network operator and final users. The scenario is analyzed as two games using game theory. In the first game, sensors decide to subscribe or not to the network operator to upload the collected sensing-data, based on a utility function related to the mean service time and the price charged by the operator. In the second game, users decide to subscribe or not to the sensor-data-based service of the service providers based on a Logit discrete choice model related to the quality of the data collected and the subscription price. The sinks and users subscription stages are analyzed using population games and discrete choice models, while network operator and service providers pricing stages are analyzed using optimization and Nash equilibrium concepts respectively. The model is shown feasible from an economic point of view for all the actors if there are enough interested final users and opens the possibility of developing more efficient models with different types of services.
Highlights
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key concept in the future of the Internet with several technologies involved, possible applications and open research challenges [1,2]
In order to address this problem we analyze a new business model centered in the provision of sensor-data-based services from a new point of view, where the providers are the owners of the Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs)
We propose a novel model where the IoT-SPs are the owners of the WSNs, which analyzes the competition between Internet of Things-Service Providers (IoT-SPs), and models how the sensing data is obtained and the related costs
Summary
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key concept in the future of the Internet with several technologies involved, possible applications and open research challenges [1,2]. The pricing mechanisms are studied in both articles using game theory and a solution maximizing the platforms’ profit is shown to exist Another approach based on bundling is [22], where several business models are proposed, the work is too general and does not analyze the models in depth. It has been used in combination with game theory and machine learning to study the competition in access networks [27], showing an improvement in the network usage and energy consumption These works are focused in very specific aspects of WSNs service provision, and they do not analyze an end-to-end business model, which provides a global point of view of all the system, from sensors to the final users
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