Utilization of Multi-Radio Access Networks for Video Streaming Services

In comparison to traditional voice based circuit switched mobile systems, the multimedia content puts forward significantly strict quality of service requirements. In this perspective, a noticeable proportion of contemporary research has been driven towards exploring the possibilities of simultaneously utilizing geographically co-existing mobile networks belonging to a wide range of wireless technologies. This paper evaluates such co-existence by means of a novel macro diversity scheme referred to as Multi Radio Transmission Diversity (MRTD) which exploits the dynamic cooperation between the networks at the radio link level. Relevant QoS parameters for an MPEG4 encoded video streaming service have been analyzed by means of simulations in a hybrid network topology consisting of IEEE 802.11b WLAN and UMTS HSDPA. The performance gains have been observed for various load and radio propagation conditions in comparison to a benchmark system which is not capable of utilizing such cooperation between multiple network interfaces.