Utility and Game-Theory Based Network Selection Scheme in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

The paper proposes a utility function and game theory (UGT) based network selection scheme to maximize accommodated number of calls, minimize handoff occurrences frequency, and fulfill quality of service (QoS) requirements in heterogeneous wireless networks. When a new call or a handoff call arrives, UGT would calculate the utility value and preference value for each candidate network based on the QoS satisfaction of the call request and the cooperative game computation. Finally, the network, which has the maximum result of linearly combined utility value and preference value, would be selected as the most suitable network for the call request. Simulation results show that UGT has good QoS satisfaction. It also allows system to accommodate more calls than iterative TOPSIS scheme. In addition, UGT can reduce the handoff occurrence frequency by about 30% as compared to iterative TOPSIS.