The future integrated wireless access network may
comprise of different wireless air interfaces (WLAN,
3G cellular, 4G cellular, peer-to-peer (P2P), multihop
relays etc.) with a range of cell sizes supported within
an integrated wireless access umbrella, as illustrated
in Figure 1. Such a trend is already in evidence today
with 3G systems beginning to work seamlessly with
wireless LANs to provide ubiquitous access. The
concept of ‘optimized connectivity’ is a main feature
of such an architecture. The fundamental premise for
assigning a user to any one of these access networks
would be to maximize the user experience, while
ensuring the most economical use of the radio resources
for the operator. The split of users between the
different access networks will be driven by system