A network selection mechanism for next generation networks

Abstract

The predominant objective of next-generation networks (i.e. 4G) is to support high bandwidth with high mobility. 3G technologies provide low bandwidth at a cellular level, and wireless local area network (WLAN) supports much higher bandwidth at a local level. The two types of technologies are seamlessly integrated in 4G networks. In this paper, we present an efficient network selection mechanism for next-generation networks to guarantee mobile users being always best connected (ABC). Two mathematical techniques are combined in the mechanism to decide the optimum network for mobile users through finding the tradeoff among user's preference, service application, and network condition.