Forward-link CDMA resource allocation based on pricing

This paper studies pricing as a means for resource allocation in a wireless direct-sequence (DS) code division multiple access (CDMA) system. We consider the forward link of a single cell with orthogonal codes and voice traffic. The base station announces a price per unit transmitted power and a price per code, and the users respond according to their individual utilities. The objective is to set prices to maximize either total user utility or total revenue. The solution to the former problem (maximize utility) is presented. To study the latter problem we derive the large system revenue as the number of users and codes tend to infinity with fixed ratio. The large system revenue depends on the distribution of utilities and path loss across the user population, and may not be a unimodal function of the prices. Numerical results based on a simple model for user utility show how the optimal prices and revenue vary with the offered load.