On Coded Broadcasting for Wireless Recommendation Systems

Rasmus Vestergaard, Osama A. Hanna, Linqi Song, Daniel E. Lucani, Christina Fragouli

Abstract: This paper considers benefits of coding techniques in recommendation systems operating over wireless channels with erasures. We identify scenarios where coded broadcasting can increase the overall user satisfaction at a fixed channel utilization level. Such opportunities arise both when user preferences are unknown, and must be explored, and when they are known and must be exploited to recommend optimally. We determine the magnitude of the potential gains and show that coding is most beneficial if users have heterogeneous preferences. Finally, we provide inequalities that can be evaluated to determine whether coding would be beneficial for a certain reward structure.