Utility-Based Weighted Prioritization in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

The next-generation wireless mobile networks are characterized by heterogeneity with a variety of different networks co-existence. To provide robust performance and flexible adjustment, we propose an Utility-based Weighted Prioritization (UWP) scheme for handoff operations in heterogeneous wireless networks. A multi-dimensional Markov chain is developed to analyze the performance of UWP, which is evaluated with respect to blocking probability and user utility. Extensive numerical results are presented to investigate the interaction between the UWP performance and key system parameters. The result demonstrates that UWP is able to provide dynamic and flexible performance control on different handoff traffics; and hence resilient to traffic dynamics.