Conception and evaluation of access selection algorithms for cooperative beyond 3G systems

As wireless technology evolve, we are seeing a tendency toward cooperative composite networks in which the diversity user demands can be properly met. The radio resource management (RRM) in such a network paradigm is a fascinating field of study and finding a cost-effective RRM solution is one of the greatest challenge faced by scientists today. This paper proposes an investigation of the access selection (AS) algorithms for the multi-access networks, aiming to indicate possible solutions based on actual radio resource consumptions and requirements. We assume that different radio access networks (RANs) are run by a single operator or a set of cooperative operators for which a proper inter-RAN signaling architecture is installed.