An Integration Framework for Next Generation Mobile Systems

The recent development and deployment of wireless technologies has created different types of mobile networks. In order to take advantage of this heterogeneity, next generation mobile networks (NGMN) is projected to integrate all of those systems. Several integrating solutions are available in the literature, yet none can claim to be the ultimate and unique integrated solution. Moreover, these proposals fail to guarantee seamless mobility and service continuity. This paper proposes a new hybrid interworking architecture (HIA) for 4G networks. HIA aims to integrate current and future wireless systems while hiding their heterogeneities. HIA guarantees seamless roaming and service continuity by supporting both IP layer and transport layer mobility. Numerical results show that HIA exhibits a net improvement of handoff latency and packet loss.