Network service provisioning in UWB open mobile access networks

An innovative architecture to access information transport resources under short-term market conditions is presented. Ultra-wideband (UWB) technology in the centralized wireless access domain is believed to minimize the intrinsic performance limitations of the radio link and to provide flexible access in a very wide range of data rates of over 100 Mb/s, even in a strong multipath environment. The decoupling of user, infrastructure, and service provision in an open mobile access network (OMAN) is proposed to overcome current limitations of radio-based networks. A solution for the joint management of quality-of-service and mobility in the UWB domain is proposed, under the assumption of a resource management compliant with the differentiated services framework. Moreover, a model for the "commoditization" of the network service is introduced. The commodity is identified as the transfer of information units between two end points of the network, measured by a function of the so-called "virtual delay," that summarizes the parameters characterizing the performance of the transfer service. A description is given of this model, together with the definition of a pricing law to charge improved Internet protocol-based services. Such concepts are central in the end-to-end service set-up.