Ambient internetworking: an architecture for extending 3/sup rd/ generation mobile networks

The concept of the 'network of networks' is becoming the generally accepted paradigm for the development of systems beyond 3G. In this paper, we consider the business and technical motivations for this development, and describe how they map onto a new architectural approach for mobile networks. This concept can be seen as a linear development of the user plane internetworking approach that has been the foundation of the success of today's Internet. Finally, we illustrate the model and architectural principles through an example scenario from the area of moving networks.