Managing radio resources in wireless data networks

Abstract

Future wireless networks are driven by the need to carry data oriented traffic. To ensure efficient utilisation of the air interface needs an understanding of the interaction of higher-layer protocols with radio resource management (RRM) algorithms. Much thought and effort has been expended in providing detailed RF simulation of cellular networks at both the link and system level. The result of this work includes the provision of invaluable information on: physical layer performance, power control and handover optimisation, system configuration, load management, and capacity. As networks begin to focus on data-oriented applications and services, it is important to understand how they will behave for a given network configuration. RRM strategies can be considered to support applications and services within the access network and control the radio aspect of the access network for optimal performance - in addition to ensuring QoS (quality of service). The focus for this article is placed on WCDMA for UMTS, however the approaches described are transferable to other underlying technologies.