Abstract This thesis aims to evaluate networking aspects of autonomous packets access systems when dynamically and adaptively performing resource and network management. In this context, Quality of Service (QoS)-aware solutions for resource sharing and control (e.g., channel access, load control, interference management and routing techniques among others) in large-scale wireless networks are envisaged. We propose and investigate distributed coordination mechanisms for controlling the co-channel interference generated in multi-tier coexistence scenarios consisting of macrocells underlaid with short-range small cells. The rationale behind employing such mechanism is to opportunistically reuse resources without compromising ongoing transmissions on the overlaid macrocells, while still guaranteeing QoS in both tiers. To mitigate the resulting co-channel interference, the underlaid tiers of small cells use distributed mechanism that relies on minimal signaling exchange, e.g., the Time Division Duplexing (TDD)-underlay approach which is based on regular busy tones. Herein, stochastic geometry is used to model network deployments, while higherorder statistics through the cumulants concept is utilized to characterize the probability distribution of the aggregate interference at the tagged receiver. To conduct our studies, we consider a shadowed fading channel model incorporating log-normal shadowing and Nakagami-m fading. In addition, various network algorithms, such as power control and frequency (re)allocation, are included in the analytical framework. To evaluate the performance of the proposed solutions, we also derive closed-form expressions for the outage probability and average spectral efficiency with respect to the receiver of interest under various channel conditions and network configurations. Results show that the analytical framework matches well with numerical results obtained from Monte Carlo simulations, and that the coordination mechanisms substantially improve the performance of overlaid macrocell networks, while also benefiting small cells. In contrast to the uncoordinated Frequency Division Duplexing mode, the coordinated TDD-underlay solution shows a reduction in the outage probability, while the average spectral efficiency increases at high loads. Although more elaborated interference control techniques such as, downlink bitmap and distributed antennas systems become needed, when the density of uncoordinated small cells in the underlaid tier gets high. / Tiivistelmä Tämä väitöskirja pyrkii arvioimaan autonomisia pakettikytkentäisiä järjestelmiä verkon näkökulmasta, kun resurssien ja verkon hallinta tapahtuu dynaamisesti ja adaptiivisesti. Tässä yhteydessä suunnitellaan QoS-tietoisia ratkaisuja resurssien jakamiseen ja hallintaan (esim. kanavan allokointi, kuorman hallinta, häiriön käsittely ja reititystekniikat) suuren skaalan langattomiin verkkoihin. Ehdotamme ja tutkimme hajautettuja koordinointimekanismeja monikanavien häiriöiden hallintaan monitasoisissa skenaarioissa, jotka koostuvat lyhyen kantaman soluista makrosoluissa. Peruste näille mekanismeille on resurssien opportunistinen uudelleenkäyttö tinkimättä käynnissä olevista lähetyksistä suuremmissa makrosoluissa, samalla kun QoS taataan molemman tason lähetyksissä. Pienentääkseen aiheutuvaa monikanavahäiriöitä, alemman tason pienet solut käyttävät hajautettua mekanismia, kuten esimerkiksi säännöllisiin varattu-ääniin perustuvaa Time Division Duplexing (TDD) - mekanismia, vähällä signaalien vaihdon määrällä. Stokastista geometriaa käytetään mallintamaan verkkoja, kun taas korkeamman tason tilastollista laskentaa kumulanttimenetelmän käsitteen kautta käytetään kuvaamaan kokonaishäiriön todennäköisyysjakaumaa merkityssä vastaanottimessa. Käsittelemme varjostuvaa ja häipyvää kanavamallia sisältäen log-normaalin varjostumisen ja Nakagamim häipymisen. Lisäksi sisällytämme analyyttiseen työhön monenlaisia verkkoalgoritmeja tehohallintaan ja taajuuden (uudelleen)allokointiin. Ehdotettujen ratkaisujen tehokkuuden arvioimiseksi johdamme myös suljetut muodot katkosten todennäköisyyksille ja keskimääräiselle spektrin käytön tehokkuudelle halutun vastaanottimen suhteen monissa kanavatiloissa ja verkon kokoonpanoissa. Tulokset osoittavat, että analyyttisen työn tulokset vastaavat hyvin Monte Carlo - simulaatioilla saatujen numeeristen tulosten kanssa ja että koordinointimekanismit parantavat makrosoluverkkojen tehokkuutta merkittävästi, samalla kun myös pienet solut hyötyvät. Toisin kuin koordinoimaton Frequency Division Duplexing -toimintatila, koordinoitu TDD-toimintatila pienentää katkosten todennäköisyyttä samalla kun keskimääräinen spektrin käytön tehokkuus kasvaa suurella kuormalla. Toisaalta kehittyneemät häiriönhallintatekniikat, kuten alalinkki bittikartta sekä hajautetut antennijärjestelmät, tulevat tarpeelliseksi, kun pienten koordinoimattomattomien solujen tiheys kasvaa alemmalla tasolla.

There have been significant advances in communication technologies over the last decade, such as cellular networks, Wi-Fi, and optical communication. Not only does the technology impact peoples’ everyday lives, but it also helps cities prepare for power outages by collecting and exchanging data that facilitates real-time status monitoring of transmission and distribution lines. Smart grids, contrary to the traditional utility grids, allow bi-directional flow of electricity and information, such as grid status and customer requirements, among different parties in the grid. Thus, smart grids reduce the power losses and increase the efficiency of electricity generation and distribution, as they allow for the exchange of information between subsystems. However, smart grids is not resilient under extreme conditions, particularly when the utility grid is unavailable. With the increasing penetration of the renewable energy sources (RES) in smart grids, the uncertainty of the generated power from the distributed generators (DGs) has brought new challenges to smart grids in general and smart microgrids in particular. The rapid change of the weather conditions can directly affect the amount of the generated power from RES such as wind turbine and solar panels, and thus degrading the reliability and resiliency of the smart microgrids. Therefore, new strategies and technologies to improve power reliability,sustainability, and resiliency have emerged. To this end, in this thesis, we propose a novel framework to improve the smart microgrids reliability and resiliency under severe conditions. We study the transition to the grid-connected operational mode in smart microgrids,in the absence of the utility grid, as an example of emergency case that requires fast and accurate response. We perform a comparative study to accurately predict upcoming grid-connected events using machine learning techniques. We show that decision tree models achieve the best average prediction performance. The packets that carry the occurrence time of the next grid-connected transition are considered urgent packets. Hence, we per-form an extensive study of a smart data aggregation approach that considers the priority of the data. The received smart microgrids data is clustered based on the delay-sensitivity into three groups using k-means algorithm. Our delay-aware technique successfully reduces the queuing delay by 93% for the packets of delay-sensitive (urgent) messages and the Packet Loss Rate (PLR) by 7% when compared to the benchmark where no aggregation mechanism exists prior to the small-cell base stations. As a mitigation action of the utility grid unavailability, we use the electrical vehicles (EVs) batteries as mobile storage units to cover smart microgrids power needs until the utility grid recovery. We formulate a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model to find the best set of electrical vehicles with the objective of minimum cost. The EVs participating in the emergency power supply process are selected based on the distance and throughput performance between the base station and the EVs

This thesis concerns the security of tomorrow’s peer-to-peer real-time communication in heterogeneous networks. Because of the additional delay caused by inband handshake and the poor compatibilities of some transport protocols, it was determined that existing security protocols such as transport layer security (TLS) and datagram transport layer security (DTLS) are not suitable in such a user scenario and a new security protocol should be designed. This new security protocol is called transport encapsulation security payload (TESP). TESP not only has the advantage of low initialization delay, but also fully supports transport protocols including TCP, UDP, stream control transmission protocol (SCTP), and datagram congestion control protocol (DCCP). Also a security analysis of TESP was carried out and no security flaws were found. / Denna uppsats behandlar säkerheten för morgondagens "peer-to-peer" (P2P) realtidskommunikation i heterogena nät. På grund av den adderade fördröjning som orsakas av inbandssignalering och dålig kompabilitet hos många transportprotokoll, så kan man fastställa att existerande säkerhetsprotokoll, såsom "(Datagram) Transport Layer Security" (TLS och DTLS), inte är lämpade för denna typ av kommunikation och att ett nytt säkerhetsprotokoll bör tas fram. "Transport Encapsulation Security Payload" (TESP) är ett sådant protokoll. TESP har inte bara fördelar såsom låg uppstartsfördröjning, utan har också stöd för många transportprotokoll, t.ex. "Transport Control Protocol" (TCP), "User Datagram Protocol" (UDP), "Stream Control Transmission Protocol" (SCTP) och "Datagram Congestion Control Protocol" (DCCP). Även en säkerhetsanalys av TESP har gjorts, där inga säkerhetsproblem har kunnat påvisas.

Based on the targets outlined by the EU Horizon 2020 (H2020) framework, it is expected that heterogeneous networking will play a crucial role in delivering seamless end-to-end ubiquitous Internet access for users. In due course, the current GSM-Railway (GSM-R) will be deemed unsustainable, as the demand for packet-oriented services continues to increase. Therefore, the opportunity to identify a plausible replacement system conducted in this research study is timely and appropriate. In this research study, a hybrid satellite and terrestrial network for enabling ubiquitous Internet access in a high-speed train environment is investigated. The study focuses on the mobility management aspect of the system, primarily related to the handover management. A proposed handover strategy, employing the RACE II MONET and ITU-T Q.65 design methodology, will be addressed. This includes identifying the functional model (FM) which is then mapped to the functional architecture (FUA), based on the Q.1711 IMT-2000 FM. In addition, the signalling protocols, information flows and message format based on the adopted design methodology will also be specified. The approach is then simulated in OPNET and the findings are then presented and discussed. The opportunity of exploring the prospect of employing neural networks (NN) for handover is also undertaken. This study focuses specifically on the use of pattern classification neural networks to aid in the handover process, which is then simulated in MATLAB. The simulation outcomes demonstrated the effectiveness and appropriateness of the NN algorithm and the competence of the algorithm in facilitating the handover process.

Call quality has been crucial from the inception of telecommunication networks. Operators need to monitor call quality from the end-user's perspective, in order to retain subscribers and reduce subscriber 'churn'. Operators worry not only about call quality and interconnect revenue loss, but also about network connectivity issues in areas where mobile network gateways are prevalent. Bandwidth quality as experienced by the end-user is equally important in helping operators to reduce churn. The parameters that network operators use to improve call quality are mainly from the end-user's perspective. These parameters are usually ASR (answer seizure ratio), PDD (postdial delay), NER (network efficiency ratio), the number of calls for which these parameters have been analyzed and successful calls. Operators use these parameters to evaluate and optimize the network to meet their quality requirements. Analysis of speech quality is a major arena for research. Traditionally, users' perception of speech quality has been measured offline using subjective listening tests. Such tests are, however, slow, tedious and costly. An alternative method is therefore needed; one that can be automatically computed on the subscriber's handset, be available to the operator as well as to subscribers and, at the same time, provide results that are comparable with conventional subjective scores. QMeter® 'a set of tools for signal and bandwidth measurement that have been developed bearing in mind all the parameters that influence call and bandwidth quality experienced by the end-user' addresses these issues and, additionally, facilitates dynamic tariff propositions which enhance the credibility of the operator. This research focuses on call quality parameters from the end-user's perspective. The call parameters used in the research are signal strength, successful call rate, normal drop call rate, and hand-over drop rate. Signal strength is measured for every five milliseconds of an active call and average signal strength is calculated for each successful call. The successful call rate, normal drop rate and hand-over drop rate are used to achieve a measurement of the overall call quality. Call quality with respect to bundles of 10 calls is proposed. An attempt is made to visualize these parameters for better understanding of where the quality is bad, good and excellent. This will help operators, as well as user groups, to measure quality and coverage. Operators boast about their bandwidth but in reality, to know the locations where speed has to be improved, they need a tool that can effectively measure speed from the end-user's perspective. BM (bandwidth meter), a tool developed as a part of this research, measures the average speed of data sessions and stores the information for analysis at different locations. To address issues of quality in the subscriber segment, this research proposes the varying of tariffs based on call and bandwidth quality. Call charging based on call quality as perceived by the end-user is proposed, both to satisfy subscribers and help operators to improve customer satisfaction and increase average revenue per user. Tariff redemption procedures are put forward for bundles of 10 calls and 10 data sessions. In addition to the varying of tariffs, quality escalation processes are proposed. Deploying such tools on selected or random samples of users will result in substantial improvement in user loyalty which, in turn, will bring operational and economic advantages.

隨著各種無線網路技術興起至今，各類無線網路技術及產品日益成熟與普及且無線網路的使用者也逐漸變多。而今在各種無線網路的廣泛使用下、時而可見的是當一個行動使用者手持行動裝置身處在一地理環境中，手持行動裝置一經掃描後，常會發現有許多無線網路其覆蓋範圍共同覆蓋在同一個地理區域中，此時多個無線存取點(Access Point)就會發生訊號覆蓋的重疊現象。行動使用者的行動裝置常需判斷是否應該切換到另一個無線網路，此種情形也就是所謂的遞換(Handoff)情形。遞換之產生，代表行動使用者從原本的無線網路區域範圍移動到另一個無線網路範圍，此時若因外界無線電訊號有所變化或是相關網路協定運作出現狀況時、就很容易產生通訊中斷的情形。 在本論文中我們將探討在異質性網路的情況下，根據多種不同的參數、來 設計一個垂直交握(Vertical handoff)的機制。以克服在異質性網路中，時常發生連線中斷之問題。本篇論文主要引使用模糊理論概念來推論其遞換(Handoff)執行的時間點，並且明確的告知終端設備要進入何種網路。 / In this paper, we propose a terminal –control scheme to avoid unnecessary vertical handovers between 3G cellular and WLAN hotspots. The proposed algorithm is a fuzzy logic based algorithm that can adapt itself to the dynamic conditions of the hybrid networks. The scheme can reduce the access delay, unnecessary handoff probability and aid the handoff decision for better connectivity. This handoff algorithm has much better performance than conventional algorithms and can be extended to other heterogeneous networks.

Avec l’apparition des nouvelles technologies de communication, le nombre des systèmes embarqués avionique et automobile est en constante augmentation. La gestion des communications entre ces systèmes devient alors de plus en plus complexe à mettre en oeuvre dans un contexte où les contraintes temporelles et environnementales sont très fortes et où le taux d’échanges de messages en augmentation continuelle. L’utilisation optimale des réseaux pour acheminer les données tout en respectant les contraintes temporelles imposées est essentielle du point de vue de la sûreté de fonctionnement. Historiquement, pour répondre aux problématiques d’efficacité et de sûreté, les industriels ont développé une palette de réseaux embarqués dédiés à leurs applications cibles (CAN, LIN, . . . ). Ces réseaux présentaient des débits relativement faibles à un moment où un besoin croissant en bande passante se faisait ressentir. le choix d’utiliser le concept de composants dit ‘sur étagères’ (off the shelf COTS) permettait alors de pallier à ce nouveau besoin. Dans un souci de conservation des capacités des réseaux à garantir les contraintes temporelles imposées par les systèmes embarqués temps réel, les industriels ont dû adapter ce concept de composants sur étagères aux systèmes embarqués. L’intérêt de l’utilisation de ces composants est un gain non négligeable en bande passante et en poids pour des coûts de développements relativement faibles. L’introduction de ces composants nouveaux s’est faite de telle sorte que leur impact sur les standards préexistants et les systèmes connectés soit minimal. C’est ainsi que les réseaux dit ‘hétérogènes’ ont vu leur apparition. Ces réseaux constituent une hybridation entre les technologies embarquées historiques et les composants sur étagère. Ils consistent en des réseaux d’extrémité utilisant des technologies éprouvées (telles que le CAN) interconnectés via des passerelles à un réseau fédérateur (backbone) utilisant des composants sur étagères. Dès lors, le défi majeur à relever lors de l’utilisation d’un réseau fédérateur est de respecter les contraintes temporelles des applications sollicitant les différents réseaux. L’objectif est mis à mal sur les points d’interconnexion des réseaux hétérogènes (Passerelles). Ainsi l’approche principale utilisée pour le passage d’un réseau à un autre est l’encapsulation de trames. Pour atteindre l’optimalité de performance de cette technique plusieurs paramètres sont à prendre en compte tels que le nombre de trames à encapsuler, les ordonnancements utilisés, le coût en bande passante ainsi que l’impact sur les distributions de délais (gigue). Dans l’optique de préservation des performances des réseaux, l’objet de nos travaux porte sur l’étude, la comparaison et la proposition de techniques permettant l’interconnexion de réseaux hétérogènes temps réels à la fois pour des applications à faibles et à fortes contraintes temporelles. Après un état de l’art sur les réseaux temps réel, nous spécifions différentes techniques d’interconnexion de réseaux hétérogènes, puis, nous présentons une étude de cas basée sur une architecture réseau interconnectant différents bus CAN via un réseau fédérateur sans fil Wi-Fi. L’étude que nous avons menée montre, par le biais de différentes simulations, que cette architecture réseau est une bonne candidate pour la transmission de flux à contraintes temporelles faibles. Une architecture réseau interconnectant différents bus CAN via un réseau fédérateur Ethernet commuté est ensuite considérée dans une seconde étude de cas ciblant les applications à fortes contraintes temporelles. Dans un premier temps, nous prenons en compte le cas d’un réseau fédérateur Ethernet-PQSE et, dans un second temps, le cas d’Ethernet-AVB. Cette étude nous permet de montrer l’impact des différentes techniques d’interconnexion sur les délais des flux du réseau. / With the emergence of new communication technologies, the number of avionics and automotive embedded systems is constantly increasing. The management of communications between these systems becomes increasingly complex to implement in a context where temporal and environmental constraints are very strong and where messages exchange rate is continuously increasing. The optimal use of networks to transmit data while fulfilling the imposed temporal constraints is essential from a safety point of view. Historically, in order to address safety and efficiency issues, manufacturers have developed a range of embedded networks dedicated to their target applications (CAN, LIN, . . . ). These networks have relatively low bit rates at a point of time where a growing need for bandwidth was felt. To overcome this new need, the choice of using the concept of so-called ’off-theshelf’ components (COTS) has been made. In order to preserve the networks abilities to guarantee the temporal constraints imposed by the real time embedded systems, manufacturers had to adapt the concept of off-the-shelf components to embedded systems. The benefits of using these components is a non-negligible gain in bandwidth and weight for relatively low development costs. The introduction of these new components has been made in such a way that their impact on pre-existing standards and connected systems is minimal. thereby, so-called ’heterogeneous’ networks have emerged. These networks are a hybridization of historical embedded technologies and off-the-shelf components. They consist of stub networks using proven technologies (such as CAN) interconnected via gateways to a backbone network using off-the-shelf components. Thus, the major challenge while using a heterogeneous network is to respect the temporal constraints of the applications requesting the different parts of the networks. This objective can be damaged at the interconnection points of the heterogeneous networks (Gateways). The main used approach to pass frames from one network to another is the encapsulation. To achieve the optimum performances of this technique, several parameters have to be considered such as the number of frames encapsulated, the used scheduling policy, the bandwidth cost as well as the impact on delay distributions (jitter). In order to preserve networks performances, the aim of our work is to study, compare and propose techniques ennabling the interconnection of real-time heterogeneous networks for application with both soft and hard temporal constraints. After a state of the art on real-time networks, we have specified different techniques for the interconnection of heterogeneous networks, then we have presented a case study based on a network architecture interconnecting different CAN buses via a wireless backbone network (Wi-Fi ). The study we conducted shows, through various simulations, that this network architecture is a good contender for the transmission of flows with soft temporal constraints. A network architecture interconnecting different CAN busses via a switched Ethernet backbone is considered in a second case study targeting applications with hard temporal constraints. Two different Ethernet backbone networks are taken into account. We studied first, the case of a switched Ethernet-PQSE backbone network. Then the case of a switched Ethernet-AVB backbone is considered. This study enabled us to highlight the impact of the different used interconnection techniques on network flows delays.

Small cells are deployed in a crowded areas with a high demand for both coverage and capacity. It is hard to address both of these requirements simultaneous with a conventional mobile network architecture based on macro cells. In many case a wire is not available to connect the small cell to the core of the mobile network. Under these circumstances a wireless link could be a convenient solution for the backhaul. In this master’s thesis IEEE 802.11n technology was evaluated to assess its suitability for backhaul from a small wireless cell. The performance of wireless equipment manufactured by several vendors has been measured. The results of these measurements were analyzed and compared to a set of requirements established for small cell backhaul. The analysis has affirmed that IEEE 802.11n is capable of providing sufficient performance to be used for small cell backhaul in various deployment scenarios. Note that in this thesis we include femtocells, picocells, wireless LAN access points, and other technologies in the category of "small cells". Another research questions of this master’s thesis is security of small cell backhaul. In addition to protecting the backhaul link itself, the security research investigated the safety of the whole mobile network architecture remodeled with the introduction of small cells. A mechanism to integrate secure small cells into a mobile network was developed. The results obtained during the project will be used as an input for product development activities in the company hosting the project. The resulting product could become the target of future wireless system performance measurements. / Små celler sätts ut i områden med höga krav på täckning och kapacitet. Det är svårt att adressera båda dessa krav samtidigt med en konventionell mobil nätverksarkitektur baserad på makro-celler. I många fall finns ingen kabel tillgänglig att koppla den lilla cellen till kärnan i det mobila nätverket. Under dessa omständigheter kan en trådlös länk vara en lämplig lösning för backhaul. I denna avhandling utvärderas IEEE 802.11n-teknikens lämplighet för backhaul av små celler. Prestandan hos trådlös utrustning tillverkad av flera olika tillverkare har mätts. Resultaten av dessa mätningar analyserades och jämfördes med en mängd krav uppsatta för backhaul av små celler. Analysen har förankrat att IEEE 802.11n är kapabel till att tillhandahålla tillräcklig prestanda för backhaul av små celler i diverse miljöer. Notera att i denna avhandling så inkluderas femto-celler, pico-celler, Wireless LAN-åtkomstpunkter, och andra teknologier i kategorin små celler". Andra forskningsfrågor berörda i avhandlingen är säkerhet vid backhaul av små celler. Utöver att skydda backhaul-länken själv så undersökte säkerhetsforskningen säkerheten av hela mobilnätsarkitekturen när små celler används i arkitekturen. En mekanism för att integrera säkra små celler i ett mobilnät utvecklades. De resultat som införskaffades under projektets genomförande kommer att användas som input till produktutvecklingsaktiviteter hos företaget som sponsrade projektet. Den resulterande produkten skulle kunna bli mål för framtida prestandamätningar av trådlösa system.

Call quality has been crucial from the inception of telecommunication networks. Operators need to monitor call quality from the end-user¿s perspective, in order to retain subscribers and reduce subscriber ¿churn¿. Operators worry not only about call quality and interconnect revenue loss, but also about network connectivity issues in areas where mobile network gateways are prevalent. Bandwidth quality as experienced by the end-user is equally important in helping operators to reduce churn. The parameters that network operators use to improve call quality are mainly from the end-user¿s perspective. These parameters are usually ASR (answer seizure ratio), PDD (postdial delay), NER (network efficiency ratio), the number of calls for which these parameters have been analyzed and successful calls. Operators use these parameters to evaluate and optimize the network to meet their quality requirements. Analysis of speech quality is a major arena for research. Traditionally, users¿ perception of speech quality has been measured offline using subjective listening tests. Such tests are, however, slow, tedious and costly. An alternative method is therefore needed; one that can be automatically computed on the subscriber¿s handset, be available to the operator as well as to subscribers and, at the same time, provide results that are comparable with conventional subjective scores. QMeter® ¿ a set of tools for signal and bandwidth measurement that have been developed bearing in mind all the parameters that influence call and bandwidth quality experienced by the end-user ¿ addresses these issues and, additionally, facilitates dynamic tariff propositions which enhance the credibility of the operator. This research focuses on call quality parameters from the end-user¿s perspective. The call parameters used in the research are signal strength, successful call rate, normal drop call rate, and hand-over drop rate. Signal strength is measured for every five milliseconds of an active call and average signal strength is calculated for each successful call. The successful call rate, normal drop rate and hand-over drop rate are used to achieve a measurement of the overall call quality. Call quality with respect to bundles of 10 calls is proposed. An attempt is made to visualize these parameters for better understanding of where the quality is bad, good and excellent. This will help operators, as well as user groups, to measure quality and coverage. Operators boast about their bandwidth but in reality, to know the locations where speed has to be improved, they need a tool that can effectively measure speed from the end-user¿s perspective. BM (bandwidth meter), a tool developed as a part of this research, measures the average speed of data sessions and stores the information for analysis at different locations. To address issues of quality in the subscriber segment, this research proposes the varying of tariffs based on call and bandwidth quality. Call charging based on call quality as perceived by the end-user is proposed, both to satisfy subscribers and help operators to improve customer satisfaction and increase average revenue per user. Tariff redemption procedures are put forward for bundles of 10 calls and 10 data sessions. In addition to the varying of tariffs, quality escalation processes are proposed. Deploying such tools on selected or random samples of users will result in substantial improvement in user loyalty which, in turn, will bring operational and economic advantages.

no / Multimedia applications in wireless networks are usually categorized into various classes according to their traffic patterns and differentiated Quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements. The traffic of heterogeneous multimedia applications often exhibits the Long-Range Dependent (LRD) and Short-Range Dependent (SRD) properties, respectively. The integrated scheduling scheme that combines Priority Queuing (PQ) and Generalized Processor Sharing (GPS) within a hierarchical structure, referred to as PQ-GPS, has been identified as an efficient mechanism for QoS differentiation in wireless networks and attracted significant research efforts. However, due to the high complexity and interdependent relationship among traffic flows, modelling of the integrated scheduling scheme poses great challenges. To address this challenging and important research problem, we develop an original analytical model for PQ-GPS systems under heterogeneous LRD and SRD traffic. A cost-effective flow decomposition approach is proposed to equivalently divide the integrated scheduling system into a group of Single-Server Single-Queue (SSSQ) systems. The expressions for calculating the queue length distribution and loss probability of individual traffic flows are further derived. After validating its accuracy, the developed model is adopted as an efficient performance tool to investigate the important issues of resource allocation and call admission control in the integrated scheduling system under QoS constraints.