Towards utility-based resource management in heterogeneous wireless networks

This work considers the network selection and the band- width assignment problems in the context of heterogeneous wireless networks operated by a single service provider. The current commercial and research practices on resource management are presented, and a novel utility-based approach supporting multiple client classes is introduced. A band- width sharing policy and a \controlled unfairness" scheme is achieved by combining distinct priority classes with logarithmic utility functions that variably grade the bandwidth allocated to clients. To demonstrate the possibilities of this approach an optimisation problem is formulated and its solution utility- optimally allocates bandwidth and distributes clients to base stations, modelling a network-side resource management sys- tem. The centralised operation allows for network-wide pro- vision of comparable service levels to clients of the same class. The optimal solution is compared to several heuristic methods. Simulations showcase the behaviour of the sys- tem, which successfully differentiates clients and utilises all available resources.