Utility-based bandwidth allocation algorithm for heterogeneous wireless networks

In next generation wireless network (NGWN), mobile users are capable of connecting to the core network through various heterogeneous wireless access networks, such as cellular network, wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), wireless local area network (WLAN), and ad hoc network. NGWN is expected to provide high-bandwidth connectivity with guaranteed quality-of-service to mobile users in a seamless manner; however, this desired function demands seamless coordination of the heterogeneous radio access network (RAN) technologies. In recent years, some researches have been conducted to design radio resource management (RRM) architectures and algorithms for NGWN; however, few studies stress the problem of joint network performance optimization, which is an essential goal for a cooperative service providing scenario. Furthermore, while some authors consider the competition among the service providers, the QoS requirements of users and the resource competition within access networks are not fully considered. In this paper, we present an interworking integrated network architecture, which is responsible for monitoring the status information of different radio access technologies (RATs) and executing the resource allocation algorithm. Within this architecture, the problem of joint bandwidth allocation for heterogeneous integrated networks is formulated based on utility function theory and bankruptcy game theory. The proposed bandwidth allocation scheme comprises two successive stages, i.e., service bandwidth allocation and user bandwidth allocation. At the service bandwidth allocation stage, the optimal amount of bandwidth for different types of services in each network is allocated based on the criterion of joint utility maximization. At the user bandwidth allocation stage, the service bandwidth in each network is optimally allocated among users in the network according to bankruptcy game theory. Numerical results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.