Congestion Control Strategies in Multi-Access Networks

This paper addresses the problematic of congestion control in the radio access interface when considering the allocation of voice and data services over several radio access technologies (RATs). In particular, the GSM/EDGE radio access network (GERAN) and the UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN) are considered for the evaluation of congestion control strategies. After a congestion situation in the radio access is detected, congestion resolution mechanisms are triggered in order to reduce the overload in the congested RAT(s). In this paper, a framework for the detection and resolution of congestion conditions in a multi-access network is presented. Moreover, three approaches intending to solve congestion situations are proposed and the evaluation of an inter-RAT handover algorithm for solving congestion events in GERAN is also presented.