A power efficient RAT selection algorithm for heterogeneous wireless networks

The Fourth Generation of wireless network (4G) is a heterogeneous network where different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) are integrated. This requires a need for Common Radio Resource Management (CRRM) to support efficient utilization of radio resources and to provide the required Quality of Service (QoS) for allocated calls. RAT selection algorithms are an important part of CRRM. This paper proposes an intelligent hybrid power efficient RAT selection algorithm (patent pending). It is a battery power saver algorithm which includes sorting available RATs, collecting information on each RAT using the IEEE P1900.4 Protocol, and making decisions for selecting the most suitable RAT for incoming calls. The proposed power efficient algorithm is compared to centralized and distributed algorithms in terms of new call blocking and Vertical Handover (VHO) call dropping probabilities. Users´ satisfactions probability and saving battery power percentage are also compared. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm performs better than the centralized and distributed algorithms in terms of blocking, dropping and users´ satisfactions probabilities. The proposed and the distributed algorithms have similar performance in term of saving battery power, and both perform better than the centralized algorithm.