Multi-mode Access System with Anchor Layer 2/3 Protocol for Beyond 3G Wireless Networks

In this paper we introduce a new multi-mode beyond 3rd generation (B3G) access system concept based on heterogeneous physical layer modes or configurations, with a common (or anchor) layer 2 and 3 protocols stack. Such a system can support a wide variety of physical layer access techniques, e.g. code division multiple access (CDMA), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), multi-carrier CDMA (MC-CDMA) etc, with different configurations which are optimised for different deployment scenarios and performance targets, while anchored by a common layer 2 and 3 protocols. Seamless inter-system handoff is enabled by the common layer 2/3 protocols, while dynamic radio resource/load/spectrum management can be performed across the different physical layer modes to achieve optimum spectrum efficiency and quality of service (QoS) support. The overall system concept of the multi-mode access system is first presented, followed by a detailed account of the anchor layer 2/3 protocol design