A novel application-oriented dynamic network selection in an integrated UMTS and WiMAX environment

The increasing demand for broadband wireless service in today's wireless communications, especially with WiMAX technology being one of the 3G standards, is causing cellular network providers to consider the integration of different heterogeneous networks. Consequently, network selection techniques play a vital role in ensuring quality of service in heterogeneous networks. In this article we develop a network selection scheme for an integrated UMTS/WiMAX heterogeneous system. The design goal is to provide the user the best available QoS at any time. The proposed scheme integrates Variance Coefficient Weighting (VCW) and modified grey relational analysis (MGRA). Simulations in heterogeneous system with UMTS and WiMAX reveal that the proposed network selection method can effectively choose the suitable network through making trade-offs among network dynamic condition and service application, while avoiding frequent unnecessary handoffs.