Optimal Network Selection in Heterogeneous Wireless Environment for Multimedia Services

In wireless communication, new radio access technologies are emerging, capable of supporting larger coverage area and faster data rates. In a wireless heterogeneous environment consisting of disparate radio access technologies, selection of the best network is an important research issue. In this paper, we propose a novel network selection algorithm for a heterogeneous environment consisting of WiMAX and LTE standard. The proposed algorithm is based on received signal strength, signal to noise ratio, available bit rate, achievable throughput and bit error rate. Relative weights of the decision making attributes are optimized by employing particle swarm optimization approach. The number of satisfied users calculated (as per their demand with wireless network selected) by proposed algorithm is optimized by modified PSO and confirmed by Monte Carlo method. From the simulation results it is inferred that the number satisfied users while running multimedia applications has been improved by 50 % as compared to the existing network selection algorithms.