Reputation-based network selection solution in heterogeneous wireless network environments

The significant developments in terms of both mobile computing device (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc.) and the wireless communication technologies (e.g., LTE, LTE-Advanced, WiMAX, etc.), lead towards a converged heterogeneous wireless environment. In this context, the user will be facing the problem of selecting from a number of Radio Access Networks that differ in technology, coverage, pricing scheme, bandwidth, latency, etc. In order to provide high quality of service (QoS) to the user in this heterogeneous wireless environment, a network selection solution is required that will efficiently facilitate the vertical handover between different wireless access networks in a seamless manner. In this paper, we propose a reputation-based network selection solution which aims to select the best value network for the user. We propose a network profiling algorithm that used to compute the reputation of each of the available networks based on the joint collaboration of the users within the network. The network with the best reputation value is recommended for selection and handover.