Mobility-Assisted and QoS-Aware Resource Allocation for Video Streaming over LTE Femtocell Networks

The interest on enhanced capabilities of femtocell networks is increasing, since it copes with the dynamics of future cellular networks. Thus, innovative approaches and concepts are required to guarantee successful deployment of this new generation of cellular networks for carrying challenging services (e.g. multimedia applications) under complex network conditions. In this context, we propose a novel approach that enhances the capability of LTE-femtocell networks when dealing with downlink variable bit rate (VBR) video transmission. The idea consists on making a pre-allocation (or reservation) of radio resources (resource blocks and transmit power) based on the knowledge of future required video traffic of connected users. We also make our approach capable of supporting efficient mobility management through an optimized handover policy. In fact a coordination entity is proposed to select the target cell which is more capable to support future video traffic delivery based on a multi-criteria utility function. Simulation results prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach and illustrate the great gains obtained for both the user side (low frame loss ratio) and the network side (low transmit power).