Abstract
Providing multimedia services with Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees in next generation wireless cellular networks poses great challenges due to the scarce radio bandwidth. Effective Call Admission Control (CAC) is important for the efficient utilization of the limited bandwidth. In this paper, the design of CAC for a decision-based Markovian model of multimedia wireless networks is considered. We propose an optimal CAC policy that aims at maximizing the system utilization while stratifying the QoS constraints bounding the handoff dropping probability of each traffic class. We used the Semi-Markov Decision Process (SMDP) technique to represent the proposed CAC. The optimal CAC decisions for each state are found by solving the linear programming formulation problem. Numerical and Simulation results show that the system upholds the handoff call dropping probability required by each traffic class while maximizing revenue for service providers. The requirements of the mobile users are hence satisfied in periods with different loads, including overload. Moreover, the implemented policy ensures efficient utilization of resources. This latter facet is highly desirable by service providers.