An access network selection algorithm for heterogeneous wireless environments

Ubiquitous service delivery requires the selection of the optimal access network in a heterogeneous wireless environment. However, since the selection of an access network in such an environment depends on several parameters with different relative importance (such as the network and the application characteristics, the user preferences, the service cost), it is a difficult task to be achieved. In this paper, an effective access network selection algorithm for heterogeneous wireless networks is proposed that combines two Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) methods, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and the Total Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. More specifically, the AHP method is used to determine weights of the criteria and the TOPSIS method is used to obtain the final access network ranking.