UWB integration into heterogeneous access networks

The purpose of this paper is to provide the reader with a vision of the current status of the integration of the Ultra-Wideband (UWB) technology into the heterogeneous access networks. Three different fields have been considered to perform this integration process: user devices, access network equipment and location-aware services. Nowadays user terminals and network devices are equipped with multiple radio interfaces, such as Wi-Fi, UMTS, WiMAX, Bluetooth, but other technologies are expected to be also integrated in the short-term with the objective to offer novel and attractive services. UWB with its lower cost, lower power consumption, higher data rates and better localisation features in relation to present short-range wireless technologies, and LTE as the next radio access interface to be deployed by mobile operators, will play a key role in the development of future multi-radio user devices and network equipment. With the aim of guaranteeing the optimum performance of all these technologies working in close proximity integrated into small-sized multi-interface devices, in this paper, a UWB/UMTS-HSPA collaborative mechanism implemented in a smartphone is described. Moreover, the coexistence between UWB and LTE as well as the interworking between UWB and WiMAX is analysed. The results of the evaluation of WiMedia as a network access technology in picocells are also presented. Finally, the inclusion of UWB in novel location-based services is studied in this document.