Multi Radio Resource Management over WiMAX-WiFi Heterogeneous Networks: Performance Investigation

Mobile communication systems beyond the third generation will see the interconnection of heterogeneous radio access networks (WiMax, wireless local area networks, etc.) in order to always provide the best quality of service (QoS) to users with multimode terminals. This scenario poses a number of critical issues, which have to be faced in order to get the best from the integrated access network. In this paper, we investigate the issue of parallel transmission over multiple radio access technologies (RATs), focusing the attention on the QoS perceived by final users. Both the alternative and the parallel use of two RATs is considered. In particular, a scenario with a point of access providing both WiMAX and WiFi coverage will be investigated, and the performance level experienced by “dual-mode users” is assessed.