NEXT GEN mobile terminal architecture: A vision

The Vision of 4G System enables an "always on, always best connected" mode of communication. Mobile users are expected to have seamless roaming and fast connectivity to highly integrated cellular networks and should be able to select preferred networks automatically when the user moves across various cellular networks. This paper proposes a next generation Mobile Terminal software architecture which includes a Generic Radio Access Abstraction layer (GRAAL) in the wireless protocol stack for selecting the best radio access network automatically according to the users and applications preferences and an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) Client framework for providing multiple and simultaneous services for voice, data and multimedia applications. A new MAC Protocol is also introduced for efficient packet transmission mechanism with reliable QoS assurance for a new 4G Network and a unified Hardware adaptation layer for achieving fast synchronization and switching among multiple physical layer technologies. The proposed Mobile Terminal architecture can enable subscribers to benefit from high throughput and to maintain session continuity during roaming across several Radio access Networks.