Resource management for service providers in heterogeneous wireless networks

In current commercial wireless networks the service providers mediate between end users and network operators. The service provider can be a good candidate to integrate the different network technologies in a flexible and expandable platform. This paper presents a framework for a service provider to perform resource management in heterogeneous wireless networks. We analyse the characteristics of the service provider, summarize the required management functions and propose an architecture that allows the service provider to support real time resource management and seamless service handover in heterogeneous wireless networks. Additionally, the resource management functions based on two service level agreements are described, and an algorithm to perform QoS degrades of live connections has been implemented. A computer simulator has been developed to demonstrate the functionality and evaluate the performance of the architecture.