An integrated mobility and traffic model for resource allocation in wireless networks

Abstract

In a wireless communications network, the movement of mobile users presents significant technical challenges to providing efficient access to the wired broadband network. In this paper, we construct a new analytical/numerical model that characterizes mobile user behavior and the resultant traffic patterns. The model is based on a semi-Markov process representation of mobile user behavior in a general state-space. Using a new algorithm for parameter estimation of a general Hidden Semi-Markov Model (HSMM), we develop an efficient procedure for dynamically tracking the parameters of the model from incomplete data. We then apply our integrated model to obtain estimates of the computational and bandwidth resources required at the wireless/wired network interface to provide high performance wireless Internet access and quality-of-service to mobile users. Finally, we develop a threshold-based admission control scheme in the wireless network based on the velocity information that can be extracted from our model.