Wireless communications, which stand at
the forefront of the technological revolution, comprise nowadays a
multiplicity of radio access technologies. However, the distinctive
communication capabilities of these technologies present unsurmountable
barriers for interoperation and migration between one other’s incumbent
networking infrastructures. By “interoperation”, we mean the
unconstrained information exchange between different communication
systems, which is increasingly adopting the all-IP converged backplane
architecture for global telecommunication integrations. By “migration”,
we mean the penetration of one communication technology into the
infrastructure of another, such as replacing a CDMA network base
station with a totally different GSM standard without changing the
deployed CDMA network infrastructure. We refer to the capabilities
of“interoperation” and “migration” as the capability of assimilation in
analogy to the human ability to carry multiple languages and cultures.
We address the assimilation needs, challenges and approaches in
communication networks in this project.
In communication networks, the assimilation capabilities are as
important as those shown in the human societies. The next generation
wireless communication systems require to support multiple wireless
communication standards. The omnipotent communication capability in an
assimilated network infrastructure is crucial in connecting with the
diversity of user communication devices and coping with unexpected
disruptions to the networks. In this project, we explore the means to
provide the capability of assimilating different communication
technologies on the base stations of network service providers.
The protocols that we study currently include:
-
UMTS-TDD
- GPRS
- WiFi (IEEE 802.11)
- WiMAX (IEEE 802.16)