QoS-Aware Network Selection in Hybrid RF-VLC Wireless Systems: A Stackelberg Game Approach

This paper proposes a Stackelberg game-theoretic framework for intelligent network selection in hybrid RF–VLC systems, addressing the demand for high-performance, cost-efficient wireless connectivity. Unlike conventional static allocation schemes, the framework enables dynamic decision-making where network providers, acting as leaders, optimize pricing, bandwidth, and transmission power, and users, as followers, select networks to maximize multi-dimensional utility functions. The approach jointly considers data rate, latency, energy efficiency, and reliability for users while balancing provider objectives of revenue and load distribution. Channel modeling uses the Lambertian model for VLC and log-distance path loss for RF, enabling accurate SNR and throughput estimation. Simulation results demonstrate notable gains in network efficiency, load balancing, and user satisfaction, highlighting the framework’s scalability, interpretability, and computational efficiency over purely learning-based methods.