A Framework for Constructing Reconfigurable Mobile Terminal Architectures

This paper focuses on the problem mobile terminals face when different protocols operate for providing the same service between visited access networks. Examples of such services are mobility management and QoS signaling. This plethora of protocols can restrict a mobile terminal from using the offered service since it might not be equipped with the appropriate software. This problem can be solved with the use of software reconfiguration. We present a framework for constructing mobile terminal architectures capable of dynamically reconfiguring between protocols that offer the same service. Then we employ the framework to construct two architectures; one capable of adapting to the offered mobility protocol and one capable of adapting to the offered QoS signaling protocol. Finally, we present an implementation of the emerged architectures and estimate through experiments their reconfiguration time.