Enhanced Mobility Support for Roaming Users: Extending the IEEE 802.21 Information Service

Many cell-phones and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are equipped with multiple radio interfaces. Because of this, devices need to have ways of efficiently selecting the most suitable access network across multiple technologies based on the physical location of the device as well as userdefined parameters such as cost, bandwidth, and battery consumption. The IEEE has standardized the 802.21 framework for media-independent handovers where dynamic selection of network interfaces is an important feature. This paper describes and evaluates a novel architecture which extends the IEEE 802.21 information service. The architecture is based on a three-layer structure with Location-to-Service Translation (LoST) servers, service provider servers and independent evaluator servers. Evaluator servers are populated with information on coverage and quality of service as provided by trusted users. The proposed architecture allows for competition at all levels and scales well due to its distributed n...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2010
• Where: WWIC
• Authors: Karl Andersson, Andrea G. Forte, Henning Schulzrinne
• Keywords: Communications, Evaluator Servers, Independent Evaluator Servers, Multiple Radio Interfaces, WWIC 2010