Multimedia services with QoS support in an integrated terrestrial and satellite UMTS network demonstrator: the IST VIRTUOUS project

Abstract

The integration of a terrestrial UMTS network with a satellite platform represents one of the most attractive proposals to develop a functional virtual home UMTS environment for a generic mobile user provided with an ad hoc dual mode terminal, which will be able to exploit the two integrated systems (hereafter referred to as segments) for a set of innovative multimedia services. At this purpose, the IST research project VIRTUOUS (virtual UMTS home on satellite) aimed at studying and implementing an integrated satellite and terrestrial UMTS (S-UMTS, T-UMTS) demonstrator in order to develop new multimedia services provided anywhere for everyone, targeting, at the same time, to an efficient exploitation of the satellite transmission capabilities. This paper deals with the description of the three major experiments were carried out on the VIRTUOUS demonstrator and with their achievements, i.e. (i) the development of a QoS supporting architecture (QoS experiment) for the T-S-UMTS systems, (ii) the demonstration of advanced end-user services (end user service experiment) and (iii) the achievement of a satisfactory user's mobility (inter segment roaming experiment). The paper is organised as follows: first a general introduction of the VIRTUOUS project and of its demonstrator is given. Then the three above mentioned experiments are described in detail with particular emphasis to their results. Finally the paper is concluded by a brief summary of the main achieved results.