Beyond 3G radio access network reference architecture

Today a multitude of radio access technologies exist and are continuously evolved to support higher bit rates, lower delays, lower cost, etc. In addition, new radio access technologies are developed to complement those of today. When using services in this environment with multiple radio access technologies, end users expect mobility between the different radio access technologies to be seamless. Network operators, in addition, look for efficient resource usage of different radio access technologies and more cost efficient ways to deploy networks. This requires increased flexibility in the radio access network architecture compared with today's architectures. In this paper a beyond 3G radio access network reference architecture supporting these requirements is presented. The architecture allows for various implementations and considers new deployment concepts such as multi-hop radio networks, moving networks and personal area networks.