An Efficient Game Form for Multi-Rate Multicast Service Provisioning

We consider the decentralized bandwidth/rate allocation problem in multi-rate multicast service provisioning with strategic users. We demonstrate that such a situation is the combination of a market problem and a public goods problem. We present a mechanism/game form which possesses the following properties when the users' utilities are concave: (1) It implements in Nash equilibria the solution of the corresponding centralized rate allocation problem in multi-rate multicast service provisioning. (2) It is individually rational. (3) It is budget-balanced at all Nash equilibria of the game induced by the mechanism/game form as well as at all off equilibrium messages/strategies that result in feasible allocations.