Context and location aware always-best-connected concept for heterogeneous network

Advances in wireless communication technologies are driving the evolution toward ever faster networks in terms of throughput and latency. User Equipments (UEs) have solid processing power, cameras and displays to produce and consume rich media and services. Their multi-standard interfaces allow them to utilize network-dependent services. However, tapping the full potential of these connected services call for the Always Best Connected (ABC) concept, allowing a person to connect to the services with the help of a personal mobile device and access technologies that are best suited to that person's needs. This paper introduces context and location aware elements in the decision making. The context relates to the services used: some of them, streaming and secure connections for example, can be sensitive to connection characteristics such as IP address change. Location awareness is introduced as a policy to assist in network selection. A reference implementation of the context and location aware ABC concept is introduced. Real-life use cases with real-life services in WiMAX, WLAN and UMTS environments are presented to back up the selected approach.