Radio resource management in emerging heterogeneous wireless networks

Deployment of heterogeneous wireless networks is spreading throughout the world as users want to be connected anytime, anywhere, and anyhow. Meanwhile, these users are increasingly interested in multimedia applications such as video streaming and Voice over IP (VoIP), which require strict Quality of Service (QoS) support. Provisioning network resources with such constraints is a challenging task. In fact, considering the availability of various access technologies (WiFi, WiMAX, or cellular networks), it is difficult for a network operator to find reliable criteria to select the best network that ensures user satisfaction while maximizing network utilization. Designing an efficient Radio Resource Management (RRM), in this type of environment, is mandatory for solving such problems. In order to provide a better understanding of RRM’s design, this paper presents a detailed investigation of key challenges that constitute an efficient RRM framework. More importantly, an overview with a classification of recent solutions, in terms of decision making, is provided along with the discussion.