This paper discusses distributed resource allocation in a communication system. Some recent approaches to decentralized resource allocation in a communication system are summarized. A characterization for resource control and pricing in a distributed wireless network with transmit power control is presented.
Power control is modelled as a noncooperative externality game between the users.
The Nash equilibrium in an uncontrolled distributed network is one where the system fails due to excessive congestion. However, by introducing a simple linear pricing penalty, the distributed system can be made to achieve the Pareto-optimal quality of service. Convergence to an efficient Nash equilibrium under pricing is observed in a numerical example assuming that the users apply a standard learning automaton.