Unlicensed spectrum has many benefits. It supports mobility of wireless applications, allows spectrum sharing, and facilitates experimentation and innovation. However, a device may overuse shared spectrum to improve its performance. Such greed is always beneficial for isolated devices. When devices contend for spectrum, greed can also lead to inadequate performance and inefficient spectrum utilization [8,12]. This paper shows that the problem can be solved by modifying the etiquette to include penalty functions that penalize greedy devices. Different penalty functions avoid greed to different degrees.
...Thus, when designing an effective etiquette, there may be tradeoffs between imposing penalties and imposing power limits. Meanwhile, the FCC has increased allocations for unlicensed spectrum. If etiquette modifications are not effected soon, devices meant to operate in isolation may be designed greedy, and the risk of a tragedy of the commons will increase once these products are marketed. It would be prudent for wireless companies to demand etiquette modifications before their competitors market greedy devices...
