Optimal pricing strategy for a wireless sensor data broker under a Zipf-distributed sensing rate offer

A brokering platform is considered, acting as an intermediary to deliver the data collected by a set of wireless sensor networks as a bundle to end customers. The wireless sensor networks provide data at sensing rates following a Zipf law and are rewarded by a linear pricing scheme, while end customers pay a flat fee to access the whole bundle of data. The optimal pricing policy to be adopted by the broker is derived. Even sensor networks with a very small sensing rate find it profitable to join the platform, unlike the case of uniform distribution of sensing rates. The optimal price paid to WSNs grows as the sensing rate grows, acting as an incentive to deploy better technology. Instead, the penetration rate among end customers is equal to the case of uniform distribution, being quite low unless a pronounced sensitivity for prices forces the broker to lower prices so as to make the service attractive to end customers.