A Seamless Service Continuity Scheme for Enhanced Network Performance in UMTS/WLAN Networks

The proliferation of wireless access technologies, mostly wireless LANs, along with the ubiquitous coverage of cellular networks, has spurred many researchers to consider schemes for integrated network provision. In overlaying network environments, flexible resource management and service continuity during handover play a crucial role in the quality-of-service seen by the user. This paper describes an integrated UMTS/WLAN architecture that manages to establish every connection in a mobile terminal through the most appropriate access network, based on both network policies and user preferences. Moreover, connections are handed over independently between UMTS and WLAN, aiming at seamless service continuity. A detailed simulation model is used to measure the performance of the proposed architecture against existing schemes