BRAIN - An architecture for a broadband radio access network of the next generation

The tremendous growth rates of the Internet as well as the area of mobile communications give rise to the chance that the mobile Internet is most promising by combining both the Internet and mobile communications. These prospects are the motivation for the European research project BRAIN (Broadband Radio Access for IP-based Networks), which is developing an open architecture for a broadband wireless mobile access network offering an integrated communication platform across heterogeneous networks and, thus, goes beyond current third generation systems and towards the mobile Internet. The project covers three major technical areas: support of seamless service provision in a mobile environment; the design of an IP-based access network that will support non-cellular technologies such as wireless LANs; and requirements of a broadband air interface suitable for hot spots. BRAIN is going to integrate HIPERLAN/2 with UMTS by means of an IP access network. The work is guided by a user-centric top-down approach ensuring that user functionality is the key driver of the project. This article will focus on that part of the BRAIN work which specifies the main interfaces of the BRAIN architecture and deals with aspects related to the support of Quality of Service and mobility. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley and Sons, Ltd.