INTELiCON: A Framework for the Simultaneous Utilization of Multiple Interfaces and its Application on TCP

Widespread deployment of Wi-Fi together with 3G upgrades to cellular networks is rapidly creating areas where multiple wireless IP technologies will coexist. WiMAX will further contribute to this phenomenon. The ability to use diverse access technologies simultaneously creates opportunities to improve application service quality and reliability. In this paper, we present an intelligent connectivity framework (INTELiCON) that allows devices to exploit access diversity in new ways. INTELiCON provides a modular, flexible platform for discovering, selecting, executing and evaluating the most appropriate transmission strategies over multiple interfaces while maintaining transparency to both the application and the link layers. We present the architectural characteristics of the INTELiCON framework and describe a prototype proof-of-concept implementation. Indicatively, we show how the framework exploits access diversity to improve TCP-based transmission despite limited resources and unreliable links.