Access network selection for coexisted WWAN, WMAN and WLAN using combined fuzzy logic and AHP

Access network selection (ANS) is the radio resource mechanism that is responsible for selecting the most optimal and promising access network (AN) for a new service request in the next generation wireless network (NGWN). Selecting the most optimal and promising AN is an important consideration for overall networks stability, resource utilisation, user satisfaction, and quality of service (QoS) provisioning. Choosing a non optimal network can result in problems such as the use of expensive access types or poor service experience. This paper presents and designs a multi criteria ANS algorithm that considers NGWN environment with a co-existed WWAN, WMAN, and WLAN. A combination of parallel fuzzy logic and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been used to achieve scalable, flexible, simple, general, and adaptable solution. The simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has better and more robust performance over the random based, the terminal speed based, and the service type based selection algorithms that are used as reference algorithms.