Capacity and network management platform for increased utilisation of wireless systems of next generation++

The main objective of the project is the smooth transition from existing wireless systems to new generation ones. CAUTION++ will exploit knowledge and system platform developed under the framework of CAUTION project and extend this to UMTS and systems beyond. The main goal of this project is to design and develop a novel, low cost, flexible, highly efficient and scaleable system able to be utilized by mobile operators to increase the performance of all network segments. The project will face the new deployment and operation challenges posed by new generation systems in contrast to those in existing ones, exploiting the new possibilities to provide enhanced capacity, quality and reduced costs.The goal is not only to monitor UTRA resources, but to have a distributed monitoring of a large number of systems-including WLAN, even from different operators.

The objectives of CAUTION++ project can be summarized as follows:

• Optimize cellular systems in terms of network performance
• Consider business models for low-cost communication
• Combine user-location information with network performance data for increased resource management
• Efficient exploitation of available network segments according to the type of service
• Implement supporting management components for next generation systems
• Enable system scalability and flexibility, so that the system can be constantly updated and have a life-cycle of 10-15 years
• Enable QoS in wireless systems
• Make cellular systems available for PMR
• Offer VAS over guaranteed network performance
• Decrease blocking rate, drop-call-rate, unsuccessful handovers, etc.
• Enable seamless vertical handovers between different network segments
• Demonstrate the architecture in a real networking environment
• Efficient use of WLAN systems and exploitation of the “hot-spot” coverage concepts
• Enable high-speed low-cost communication
• Increased capacity for multimedia services
• Become one of the “bridge” projects towards FP6 Apart from the general objectives.

The technical objectives can be summarized as follows:

• Performance analysis of new generation systems based on field-trials
• Define interfaces, management reports for GSM, GPRS, UTRA, WLAN and other candidate systems, taking into account existing   standards and feeding the results and conclusions into the standardization processes
• According to the systems included, specify in-detail the system architecture
• Create business models for inter-segment handover CAUTION++ IST-2001-38229 Page 7(98)
• Design and implement management techniques for GSM, GPRS, UTRA and all possible network environments
•  Implement the CAUTION++ system and test it in a real networking environment · Resource management of WLAN system
• Vertical and vertical-vertical handover
• Inter/Intra segment mobility Obviously, one of the major objectives of this project is standardization.

The project aims to have the following standardization strategy:

• Define reports and interfaces of GSM, GPRS, UMTS and WLAN network components that are useful for exploitation and propose standardized reports and interfaces
• Standardize network interfaces to support RRM techniques in 3GPP