Performance Evaluation of Middleware for Provisioning LBS in Cellular Networks

Location systems based on already-deployed cellular networks spend the resources of the underlying communications network. This paper proposes a middleware that reduces the consumption of resources and optimizes the location traffic load. This middleware, called MILCO (Middleware for Location Cost Optimization), is assumed to run on networks that can choose from among several location techniques (e.g. A-GPS, NMR, etc.). MILCO selects the optimum technique for each request, i.e. the location technique that provides the required quality of service (QoS) and minimizes resource operating expenses. In addition, MILCO takes advantage of ongoing location processes to reduce the overall expenditure of resources. The results show that MILCO reduces the rate of location-process failure and improves latency for location provisioning and resource usage in cellular networks.