Access Network Selection in a Heterogeneous Environment Using the AHP and Fuzzy TOPSIS Methods

The problem of network selection across heterogeneous wireless networks has recently received much attention because of a drive for converged communication systems. However, since the selection of an access network depends on several parameters with different relative importance, such as the network and the application characteristics, the user preferences, the service cost, etc, it is a difficult task to be achieved. In this paper an effective access network selection algorithm for heterogeneous wireless networks is proposed that combines two Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) methods, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method and the fuzzy Total Order Preference by Similarity to the Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) method. More specifically, the AHP method is used to determine weights of the criteria, and the fuzzy TOPSIS method is used to obtain the final access network ranking.

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