Dynamic resource allocation in a LTE/WLAN heterogeneous network

Resource allocation in a heterogeneous network is a complex task due to diversified requirements of its member networks. In a heterogeneous network different subnetworks cooperate with each other to offer services to various applications through smart terminals. In this paper we present a dynamic radio resource allocation technique which allocates transmission bandwidth to subnetworks in a heterogeneous network in a cooperative manner to maximize the network capacity, application QoS and bandwidth utilization. We investigate a LTE/WLAN based infrastructure based heterogeneous network where transmission resources are allocated to its member network in a spectrally efficient manner to maximize the throughput of the combined network. The proposed radio resource allocation algorithm uses a traffic prediction technique to estimate the expected load of member networks and then allocate the transmission resources to those networks in a cooperative manner. The performance of the proposed algorithm was analyzed using an OPNET simulation model. Performance results show that the proposed cooperative resource allocation technique could significantly improve the application QoS of LTE and WLAN users.