Multiaccess Radio Network Enviroments

Nowadays there is a plethora of independent radio access technologies (RATs), each supporting distinct coverage, mobility, data rates, and quality of service (QoS). The cornerstone of all visions on future wireless networks is that there will be a multiaccess network environment, where users will be able to select from various available multiple heterogeneous access networks the most appropriate one to satisfy specific application requirements. On the other hand, emerging applications call for the vehicular networks to support multimedia and real-time services. Future intelligent transportation Digital Object Identifier 10. Π09/MVT.2010.939107systems (ITSs) will therefore necessitate reliable wireless vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2Γ) communications, which can be achieved through the deployment of the most appropriate technology, according to the system in question. This article investigates relevant network selection approaches that have been adopted by widely accepted telecommunication standards and briefly presents recent research proposals of the literature. More specifically, the article introduces the decomposition of the network selection problem into four fundamental steps. For every step, the key elements are highlighted and the most common techniques are analyzed and discussed comparatively.