Supporting UMTS QoS in Wireless LANs

This paper focuses on how the UMTS Quality of Service (QoS) architecture can be supported in Wireless LANs (WLANs), deployed as alternative access networks to the UMTS core. More specifically, the paper addresses the provision of UMTS QoS over WLANs and proposes a solution based on the introduction of the Wireless Adaptation Layer (WAL). The WAL provides means for extending the UMTS QoS in WLAN environments, independently of the underlying WLAN technology. Moreover, the WAL configuration to support the provisioning of UMTS QoS is discussed. In this context, a mapping between UMTS QoS attributes and WAL modules is proposed and justified.