From Rigid Isolation to Elastic Integration: Progressively Unified Resource Allocation in ISAC for Value of Service Maximization

Concurrently supporting heterogeneous services, e.g., sensing and communication (S&C), presents a significant challenge for future wireless networks due to the increasing number of connected devices, limited resources, and the complexity of integrated service provisioning. Furthermore, dynamic network conditions, along with varying heterogeneous needs from coexisting devices, further exacerbate the challenges of traditional rigid system operation, where heterogeneous network services are treated as either entirely independent or fully integrated. This rigid operation neglects the fluctuating gains and costs of the integrated heterogeneous service provisioning. To transform isolated operations into a highly integrated paradigm, this paper proposes a progressive scheme for integrated sensing and communication (ISAC). The scheme elastically adjusts the integration level based on continuously accumulated system state observations, including user demand, resource conditions, and environmental changes, to regulate resource utilization dynamically. Specifically, we present a unified Value of Service (VoS) metric, which adaptively incorporates user service experiences, resource costs, and gains from S&C coupling to guide efficient resource allocation. In addition, building on this progressive integration scheme, we develop a dynamic stage-dependent resource optimization algorithm for bandwidth allocation. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed integrated framework and algorithm in optimizing resource allocation and maintaining system performance under stringent resource constraints.