Security mechanisms for delivering ubiquitous services in next generation mobile networks

Delivering ubiquitous services to various users and devices through heterogeneous networks is a major aim in next generation networks. The delivery should be efficient and secure. The support and integration of security, quality of service (QoS) and mobility management (MM) in access networks become parts of the essential issues. An enhanced node (EN) with a network sub-layer is proposed here to achieve this integration. The architectural framework with ENs located in the IP-based access networks is presented. The focus of this paper is to investigate the challenges of integrating security with QoS and MM, notably the threats and requirements, based on this framework. The solutions are also proposed to provide the authenticated and authorized access control and to secure the handover process.