Dynamic Network Selection in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks: A user-centric scheme for improved delivery

Abstract

The increasing tendency toward extreme network densification has motivated network operators to leverage spectrum across multiple radio access networks to significantly enhance spectral efficiency, quality of service, and network capacity. Therefore, there is a substantial need to develop innovative network selection mechanisms that consider energy efficiency while meeting application quality requirements. In this context, in accordance with the new trends foreseen for fifthgeneration (5G) systems, we propose a user-centric scheme for efficient network selection. Our solution accounts for network characteristics and application requirements, as well as for different user objectives, by assigning them different weights and dynamically updating them. Numerical results show the efficiency of the proposed solution and its ability to grasp the conflicting nature of users' objectives while achieving an excellent balance between them. Results also show that our solution leads to a significantly increased operating time of user devices. 2012 IEEE.