An Alternative QoS Architecture for Integrating WLAN/3G Networks

The integration of heterogeneous wireless networks has been studied for some time. Wireless networks can be complementary by providing additional resources to one another if properly integrated. For example, 3G networks offer increased coverage, but they have a low capacity for data transmission. In contrast, WLANs (Wireless Local Networks) offer a limited coverage range while allowing high rates of data transmission. Some aspects of integration and interoperation between these network technologies have been analysed in articles, books and tutorials. However, video delivery services involving these networks still deserve further attention, especially scenarios in which the two technologies are properly integrated. In this paper, we introduce a novel QoS Architecture composed of a provider-independent CAC (PI-CAC) for mobile network selection, a session proxy (SP) for video session management during handovers, and a specialized MIP implementation (S-MIP) to reduce native MIP latency into a scenario in which Wireless Local Network (WLAN) and 3G cellular networks are integrated using peer-to-peer architecture. This solution attempts to preserve the quality of the streaming video during each handover and recover the user video session damaged by high delays caused by MIP. The performance of our solution was evaluated using a testbed implementation into a real scenario and the results were better when compared with solutions based on traditional approaches.