Research Article
A Novel Architecture for Roaming between 3G and Wireless LANs
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1109/MSAN.2005.1489951, author={F. Siddiqui and S. Zeadally and S. Fowler}, title={A Novel Architecture for Roaming between 3G and Wireless LANs}, proceedings={1st International ICST Conference on Multimedia Services Access Networks}, publisher={IEEE}, proceedings_a={MSAN}, year={2005}, month={8}, keywords={UMTS WLAN mobility dual-mode internetworking.}, doi={10.1109/MSAN.2005.1489951} }- F. Siddiqui
S. Zeadally
S. Fowler
Year: 2005
A Novel Architecture for Roaming between 3G and Wireless LANs
MSAN
IEEE
DOI: 10.1109/MSAN.2005.1489951
Abstract
Third generation (3G) cellular networks and 802.11 Wireless LANs (WLAN) are commonly considered as complementary technologies. By internetworking these systems one can offer subscribers with ubiquitous connectivity as well as high-speed wireless access in high user density locations known as “hotspots”. The key issue involved in achieving these integration benefits is the development of internetworking architectures of WLAN and 3G technologies that can provide seamless roaming services between these two distinct radio access networks. One feasible solution is to employ mobile devices with dual network interfaces and the means to switch data transmission between these interfaces depending upon the availability of the access network. In this paper, we discuss the design and implementation of such a dual-mode mobile terminal with two radio-access interfaces and a dynamic interface switching algorithm based on the received signal strength. We also propose a simple intertechnology handoff technique using these interface switching mechanisms to enable transparent roaming across these access networks. We evaluate the performance of our proposed approach through simulation tests using OPNET