Logo
ScienceStack
Table of Contents
Fetching ...
Sign In

Competitive advantage of URLLC vs. eMBB for supporting timeliness-relevant services

Luis Guijarro, Jose-Ramon Vidal, Vicent Pla

TL;DR

The paper analyzes the economic and performance implications of supporting timeliness-relevant services in 5G by comparing URLLC and eMBB within a two-operator duopoly. It couples a queueing-theoretic AoI framework with a Hotelling-style market model to derive Nash equilibria for investment (μ) and provisioning (λ) under QoS constraints, revealing that URLLC generally offers a competitive edge and higher user welfare under moderate QoS stringency and investment cost. The findings show that as URLLC requirements soften, URLLC and eMBB converge in performance and economics, while stricter URLLC constraints or high deployment costs can erode URLLC profitability. Overall, the work provides insights for operators and standardization efforts on when and how timeliness-aware services can be economically viable, and highlights the conditions under which AoI-based utilities translate into tangible competitive advantages.

Abstract

5G specifications promise a common and flexible-enough network infrastructure capable of satisfying diverse requirements of both current and future use cases. Two service types standardized in 5G are eMBB, without stringent delay guarantee, and URLLC, with stringent delay guarantee. We focus on a use case where data timeliness is the relevant quality parameter. We provide an economic rationale for the support of data-based services, that is, from the point of view of the profits attained by the service providers and operators (SP). More specifically, we focus on data-based services the quality of which is related to the Age of Information, and we assess two alternatives for the support of this sort of services by means of a 5G network: one that is based on the eMBB service type, and one that is based on the URLLC service type. These assessment is conducted in a duopoly scenario. We conclude that URLLC support provides a competitive advantage to an SP against a competitor SP that supports its service offering on eMBB. And that there is a slightly better situation for the users when the URLLC QoS constraint is stringent.

Competitive advantage of URLLC vs. eMBB for supporting timeliness-relevant services

TL;DR

The paper analyzes the economic and performance implications of supporting timeliness-relevant services in 5G by comparing URLLC and eMBB within a two-operator duopoly. It couples a queueing-theoretic AoI framework with a Hotelling-style market model to derive Nash equilibria for investment (μ) and provisioning (λ) under QoS constraints, revealing that URLLC generally offers a competitive edge and higher user welfare under moderate QoS stringency and investment cost. The findings show that as URLLC requirements soften, URLLC and eMBB converge in performance and economics, while stricter URLLC constraints or high deployment costs can erode URLLC profitability. Overall, the work provides insights for operators and standardization efforts on when and how timeliness-aware services can be economically viable, and highlights the conditions under which AoI-based utilities translate into tangible competitive advantages.

Abstract

5G specifications promise a common and flexible-enough network infrastructure capable of satisfying diverse requirements of both current and future use cases. Two service types standardized in 5G are eMBB, without stringent delay guarantee, and URLLC, with stringent delay guarantee. We focus on a use case where data timeliness is the relevant quality parameter. We provide an economic rationale for the support of data-based services, that is, from the point of view of the profits attained by the service providers and operators (SP). More specifically, we focus on data-based services the quality of which is related to the Age of Information, and we assess two alternatives for the support of this sort of services by means of a 5G network: one that is based on the eMBB service type, and one that is based on the URLLC service type. These assessment is conducted in a duopoly scenario. We conclude that URLLC support provides a competitive advantage to an SP against a competitor SP that supports its service offering on eMBB. And that there is a slightly better situation for the users when the URLLC QoS constraint is stringent.
Paper Structure (11 sections, 10 equations, 14 figures)

This paper contains 11 sections, 10 equations, 14 figures.

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Related work
  3. Model
  4. System model
  5. Economic model
  6. Users' subscription
  7. Service provider's decisions
  8. Results
  9. Effect of parameter epsilon
  10. Effect of parameter c
  11. Conclusions

Figures (14)

  • Figure 1: Scenario
  • Figure 2: System model
  • Figure 3: $\mu$ and $\lambda$ as functions of $\epsilon$ for URLLC SP and eMBB SP
  • Figure 4: AoI as a function of $\epsilon$ for URLLC SP and eMBB SP
  • Figure 5: Number of subscribers as a function of $\epsilon$ for URLLC SP and eMBB SP
  • ...and 9 more figures