Joint source channel coding optimization for heterogeneous access networks in multiuser scenario

In a multiple access technologies scenario, aimed at providing the “always best connected” (ABC) service, the future fourth-generation wireless networks will be characterized by an increasing heterogeneity. When a multimedia transmission is considered, the ABC can be improved by the optimization of the source coding. In this work, we propose a joint source channel coding (JSCC) optimization technique, able to adapt the system parameters to channel variations, providing at the same time a high level of scalability of the encoded video bitstream. With the proposed JSCC method, we address the ABC issue in multi-user scenario affected by multiple interference. The results show that, despite the simplicity of the algorithm, the adaptive system experiences an improvement of the performance compared to fixed coding schemes.