Location based Network Optimizations for Mobile Wireless Networks: A study of the Impact of Mobility and Inaccurate Information

The availability of location information in mobile devices, e.g., through built-in GPS receivers in smart phones, has motivated the investigation of the usefulness of location based network optimizations. Since the quality of input information is important for network optimizations, a main focus of this work is to evaluate how location based network optimizations are affected by varying quality of input information such as location information and user movements.

The first contribution in this thesis concerns cooperative network-based localization systems. The investigations focus on assessing the achievable accuracy of future localization system in mobile settings, as well as quantifying the impact of having a realistic model of the required measurement exchanges. Secondly, this work has considered different large scale and small scale location based network optimizations, namely centralized relay selection in Wi-Fi networks and predictive handover optimization in heterogeneous wireless networks.

The investigations in this work have indicated that location based network optimizations are beneficial compared to typical link measurement based approaches. Especially the knowledge of geographical relations between network entities given from the location information and the possibilities for proactivity that movement prediction gives, are believed to be essential features in future network optimizations. These features make it possible for network optimizations to work efficiently in complex and highly mobile scenarios.