Quantum Game Theory approach for data network routing: a solution for the congestion problem

Abstract

Because of the sustained growth of information and mobile users transmitting a great amount of data packets, modern network performances are being seriously affected by congestion problems. In fact, congestion management is a challenging task that can be roughly summarized as a trade off between transmission latency and cost. In this context, a novel framework is proposed for solving the congestion problem on communication networks using a quantum game theory model, where network packets compete selfishly for the shortest route. Simulations show that final network routing and traveling times achieved with the quantum game version outperform those obtained classically. This leads to the opportunity of developing full-stack protocols that may be capable of taking advantage of the quantum properties for optimizing communication systems. Due to its generality, the game theoretic approach can be applied both in local networks and in more complex networks such as 5G or LTE-A.