Bandcoin: Using Smart Contracts to Automate Mobile Network Bandwidth Roaming Agreements

Abstract

We propose a new way to share licensed spectrum bandwidth capacity in mobile\nnetworks between operators, service providers and consumers using\nblockchain-based smart contracts. We discuss the foundational building blocks\nin the contract as well as various extensions to support more advanced features\nsuch as bulk purchases, future reservations, and various auction mechanisms.\nFurthermore, we demonstrate how the system can be implemented with an\nopen-source, permissioned Enterprise blockchain, Hyperledger Sawtooth. We show\nthat our smart contract implementation can improve blockchain transaction\nperformance, by approximately four orders of magnitude compared to serial\ntransactions and one order of magnitude compared to parallell transactions,\nusing PKI-driven bulk purchases of mobile access grants, paving the way for\nfully automated, efficient, and fine-grained roaming agreements.\n