Radio Access Technology Selection in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks Using a Hybrid Fuzzy-Biogeography Based Optimization Technique

Abstract

Radio access technology (RAT) selection in heterogeneous wireless networks is a challenging task to achieve guaranteed quality of service (QoS). This paper proposes a hybrid methodology in order to accomplish QoS through high service connectivity and reliable network transparency in a wireless heterogeneous system. The proposed hybrid methodology integrates a non-homogenous biogeography based optimization (NHBBO) with a parallel fuzzy system (PFS). The PFSs are employed to determine the probability of RAT selection, which acts as an input to the NHBBO procedure. Thus the NHBBO decide over the defined multi-point decision making algorithm to select the best RAT in the given heterogeneous network. The key role of the proposed technique is to optimize the weight coefficients of multi-point decision making algorithm and ensure maximum user satisfaction ratio to select best RAT. Several experiments are carried out using the proposed NHBBO---PFS technique to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness in producing solutions compared to a few existing methods for RAT selection in heterogeneous wireless networks.