Reliability and survivability of wireless and mobile networks

The world is becoming more dependent on wireless and mobile services, but the ability of wireless network infrastructures to handle the growing demand is questionable. As wireless and mobile services grow, weaknesses in network infrastructures become clearer. Failures not only affect current voice and data use but could also limit emerging wireless applications such as e-commerce and high-bandwidth Internet access. As wireless and mobile systems play greater roles in emergency response, including 911 and enhanced 911 services, network failures take on life-or-death significance. Therefore, in addition to directing some attention to designing survivable wireless and mobile networks, developers must also keep in mind that increasingly pervasive and demanding services will further escalate the importance of reliability and survivability requirements. The authors explain several options providers must consider to decrease the number of network failures and to cope with failures when they do occur.