Multi-access edge computing (MEC) service provision based on local cost measurements

At least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions stored thereupon, which when executed by processing circuitry of a computing system, cause the processing circuitry to perform operations comprising:

• receiving, by a mobile edge host, over a data plane interface, a message including traffic rules and a set of statistics related to a state of a multi-access edge computing application (MEC app), the MEC app operated by a service provider;
• instructing, by the mobile edge host, the data plane interface to route traffic among MEC apps based on the traffic rules received in the message;
• determining, by the mobile edge host, a cost for the service provider to provide one or more services of the MEC app to one or more user equipments (UEs) based on the statistics;
• and
• providing, by the mobile edge host, a value of the cost to the service provider.

An apparatus of a multi-access edge computing (MEC) system comprising:

• communications circuitry configured to communicate with an access network;
• means for receiving, by a processor of a mobile edge host, over a data plane interface, a message including traffic rules and a traffic rules message including a set of statistics related to a state of a MEC application (MEC app), the MEC app operated by a service provider;
• means for instructing, by the processor of the mobile edge host, the data plane interface to route traffic among MEC apps based on the traffic rules received in the message;
• means for determining, by the processor of the mobile edge host, a cost for the service provider to provide one or more services of the MEC app to one or more user equipments (UEs) based on the statistics;
• and
• means for providing, by the processor of the mobile edge host, a value of the cost to the service provider.

A method of operating in a multi-access edge computing (MEC) network, the method comprising:

• receiving, by a mobile edge host, over a data plane interface, a message including traffic rules and a set of statistics, the statistics representing a state of a MEC application (MEC app), the MEC app operated by a service provider;
• instructing, by the mobile edge host, the data plane interface to route traffic among MEC apps based on the traffic rules received in the message;
• determining, by the mobile edge host, a cost for the service provider to provide one or more services of the MEC app to one or more user equipments (UEs) based on the statistics;
• and
• providing, by the mobile edge host, a value of the cost to the service provider.