Method, System, Mobile Communication Terminal and a Node Adapted for End-to-End Quality Access Selection of an Access Network

Abstract

In a method of selecting an access network from among one or more access networks capable of providing service to a mobile communication terminal, measuring (S 1 ), for at least two access networks, an end-to-end quality through the whole communication path between the terminal and a destination node, and selecting (S 2 ) at least one access based on said measured end-to-end quality.

1 - 26 . (canceled) 
   
   
       27 . A method of selecting an access network from among one or more radio access networks, belonging to one or several different operators, where each said access network is capable of providing service to a mobile communication station, the method comprising:
 measuring, for at least two access networks, an end-to-end quality through the whole communication path, each said communication path including both radio links and wired links between the terminal and a destination node, and   selecting at least one access based on said measured end-to-end quality.   
   
   
       28 . The method according to  claim 27 , wherein said measuring step is performed at the terminal. 
   
   
       29 . The method according to  claim 27 , wherein said measuring step is performed at an intermediate node. 
   
   
       30 . The method according to  claim 27 , wherein said measuring step comprising transmitting at least one acknowledgeable measuring packet through each access between the terminal and the destination node. 
   
   
       31 . The method according to  claim 27 , further comprising measuring said end-to-end quality as a function of at least a delay for each access. 
   
   
       32 . The method according to  claim 27 , further comprising measuring said end-to-end quality as a function of at least bandwidth for each access. 
   
   
       33 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein said measuring step comprising transmitting multiple acknowledgeable measuring packets through each access between the terminal and the destination node. 
   
   
       34 . The method according to  claim 30 , further comprising transmitting acknowledgeable measuring packets with different sizes. 
   
   
       35 . The method according to  claim 33 , further comprising measuring said end-to-end quality as a function of a packet error rate for each access. 
   
   
       36 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein said acknowledgeable measuring packet is a ping packet. 
   
   
       37 . The method according to  claim 30 , wherein said acknowledgeable measuring packet is a payload packet. 
   
   
       38 . The method according to  claim 27 , further comprising:
 selecting more than one access, and   transmitting fractions of the data to be transmitted on each selected access, based on the measured end-to-end quality for each access.   
   
   
       39 . The method according to  claim 34 , further comprising transmitting fractions of the data basically according to: 
     
       
         
           
             
               L 
               n 
             
             = 
             
               
                 1 
                 
                   
                     D 
                     n 
                   
                   · 
                   
                     
                       ∑ 
                       
                         i 
                         = 
                         1 
                       
                       N 
                     
                      
                     
                       1 
                       
                         D 
                         i 
                       
                     
                   
                 
               
               · 
               
                 L 
                 tot 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     where L tot  is the total load, L n  is the load or utilization for access n, D n  is the normalized round trip time in s/kbit for access n, and N is the number of accesses selected. 
   
   
       40 . A system enabling selection of an access network from among one or more radio access networks belonging to one or several different operators, where each said access is capable of providing service to a mobile communication station, the system comprising:
 means for measuring, for each access network, an end-to-end quality through the whole communication path, each said communication path including both radio links and wired links between the terminal and a destination node, and   means for selecting at least one access based on said measured end-to-end quality.   
   
   
       41 . The system according to  claim 40 , wherein said measuring means are located in the terminal. 
   
   
       42 . The system according to  claim 40 , wherein said measuring means are located in an intermediate node, 
   
   
       43 . The system according to  claim 42 , wherein said measuring means are further adapted to transmit the measurements results to the terminal. 
   
   
       44 . The system according to  claim 42 , characterized in that said selecting means are located in one of the intermediate node, the terminal or another node. 
   
   
       45 . The system according to  claim 40 , wherein said measuring means are configured to transmit at least one acknowledgeable measuring packet through each access between the terminal and the destination node. 
   
   
       46 . The system according to  claim 40 , wherein said measuring means are configured to measure said end-to-end quality as a function of at least delay and/or bandwidth for each access. 
   
   
       47 . The system according to  claim 40 , wherein said measuring means are configured to transmit multiple acknowledgeable measuring packets through each access between the terminal and the destination node. 
   
   
       48 . The system according to  claim 47 , wherein said measuring means are configured to measure said end-to-end quality as a function of a packet error rate for each access. 
   
   
       49 . The system according to  claim 40 , wherein said selecting means are configured to select more than one access, and to transmit fractions of data to be transmitted on each selected access, based on the measured end-to-end quality for each access. 
   
   
       50 . A node in a multi-radio access telecommunication system, further comprising:
 means for measuring, for each access network, an end-to-end quality through the whole communication path, each said communication path including both radio link and wired links between a terminal and a destination node, and   means for selecting at least one access for the terminal based on said measured end-to-end quality.   
   
   
       51 . The node according to  claim 50 , wherein said selecting means are further adapted to report said selected at least one access to the terminal. 
   
   
       52 . A mobile communication terminal capable of using one or more access networks belonging to one or several different operators in a multi-radio access system, the terminal comprising:
 means for measuring, for each access network, an end-to-end quality through the whole communication path, each said communication path including both radio link and wired links between the terminal and a destination node, and   means for selecting at least one access based on said measured end-to-end quality.