Resource management for third generation cellular communication systems

In third generation wireless cellular communication systems, cell sizes are expected to become smaller in order to accommodate high user density and multimedia traffic. Resource allocation schemes will have to be flexible to handle heterogeneous traffic and be dynamically adapted to the time-varying channel and user mobility. We propose such a resource management strategy. We introduce the notion of a connection group, where a mobile user simultaneously connects to multiple base stations using multiple links. The number of base stations and which base station to connect to are functions of the time-varying channel, mobility, current bandwidth need, and quality of service requirement. Once a call is admitted into the network, the resource management strategy will allow the mobile to dynamically configure its connections in such a way to minimize call dropping probability, maximize signal quality, and increase channel resource utilization efficiency. The performance of the protocol is analyzed in terms of call blocking and dropping probabilities and channel resource utilization. Results show that the proposed resource management scheme can support multimedia traffic with low call blocking and dropping probabilities and high channel utilization efficiency.