Radio network resource sharing based on a distributed ledger

1 . A method for sharing radio network resources in a distributed ledger (DL) network that is operated between a plurality of participants including a first participant who is a mobile network operator, who is an owner of a radio access network (RAN) infrastructure that includes base stations or other access points, and a second participant who is a different mobile network operator, who is a vendor leasing usage of RAN resources of the RAN infrastructure, the method performed by a DL node of the second participant comprising:

determining, at the DL node of the second participant, from a DL of the DL network a smart contract that allows sharing of the RAN resources of the RAN infrastructure owned by the first participant, wherein the DL contains a lease availability information comprising:

leasing participant identity (ID) identifying the first participant,

timestamp indicating a time at which the RAN resources are available,

type of lease,

resource ID identifying a resource available for lease, and

resource type identifying type of resource;

executing the smart contract to generate one or more transactions between the first participant and the second participant, wherein a first transaction of the one or more transactions indicates that a first portion of the RAN resources of the first participant is leased to the second participant; and

recording, through a consensus mechanism, the first transaction in the DL.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a second transaction of the one or more transactions indicates a transfer of funds from the second participant to the first participant in exchange of the first portion of the RAN resources being leased to the second participant.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein leasing of the first portion of the RAN resources to the second participant includes sharing the first portion of the RAN resources between the first participant and the second participant.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining, at the DL node of the second participant, from the DL of the DL network the smart contract that allows sharing of the RAN resources owned by the first participant includes:

determining, from the DL, one or more smart contracts indicating RAN resources that are available for lease; and

selecting the smart contract from the one or more smart contracts.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the first transaction indicates a lease commitment between the first participant and the second participant for using the first portion of the RAN resources during a predetermined period of time.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein resources to be shared include transport network resources.

7 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a distributed ledger (DL) node, cause the DL node to perform operations for sharing radio network resources in a DL network that is operated between a plurality of participants including a first participant who is a mobile network operator, who is an owner of a radio access network (RAN) infrastructure that includes base stations or other access points, and a second participant who is a different mobile network operator, who is a vendor leasing usage of RAN resources of the RAN infrastructure, comprising:

determining, at the DL node associated with the second participant, from a DL of the DL network a smart contract that allows sharing of the RAN resources of the RAN infrastructure owned by the first participant, wherein the DL contains a lease availability information comprising:

leasing participant identity (ID) identifying the first participant,

timestamp indicating a time at which the RAN resources are available,

type of lease,

resource ID identifying a resource available for lease, and

resource type identifying type of resource;

executing the smart contract to generate one or more transactions between the first participant and the second participant, wherein a first transaction of the one or more transactions indicates that a first portion of the RAN resources of the first participant is leased to the second participant; and

recording, through a consensus mechanism, the first transaction in the DL.

8 . A distributed ledger (DL) node for sharing radio network resources in a DL network that is operated between a plurality of participants including a first participant who is a mobile network operator, who is an owner of a radio access network (RAN) infrastructure that includes base stations or other access points, and a second participant who is a different mobile network operator, who is a vendor leasing usage of RAN resources of the RAN infrastructure, the DL node associated with the second participant comprising:

one or more processors; and

a computer readable storage medium storing a set of computer readable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the DL node of the second participant to perform operations to:

determine from a DL of the DL network a smart contract that allows sharing of the RAN resources of the RAN infrastructure owned by the first participant, wherein the DL contains a lease availability information comprising:

leasing participant identity (ID) identifying the first participant,

timestamp indicating a time at which the RAN resources are available,

type of lease,

resource ID identifying a resource available for lease, and

resource type identifying type of resource;

execute the smart contract to generate one or more transactions between the first participant and the second participant, wherein a first transaction of the one or more transactions indicates that a first portion of the RAN resources of the first participant is leased to the second participant; and

record, through a consensus mechanism, the first transaction in the DL.

9 . The DL node of claim 8 , wherein a second transaction of the one or more transactions indicates a transfer of funds from the second participant to the first participant in exchange of the first portion of the RAN resources being leased to the second participant.

10 . The DL node of claim 8 , wherein leasing of the first portion of the RAN resources to the second participant includes sharing the first portion of the RAN resources between the first participant and the second participant.

11 . The DL node of claim 8 , wherein to determine, at the DL node of the second participant, from the DL of the DL network the smart contract that allows sharing of the RAN resources owned by the first participant further to:

determine, from the DL, one or more smart contracts indicating RAN resources that are available for lease; and

select the smart contract from the one or more smart contracts.

12 . The DL node of claim 11 , wherein the first transaction indicates a lease commitment between the first participant and the second participant for using the first portion of the RAN resources during a predetermined period of time.