From Theory of Optimal Search to Sequential Paging in Cellular Networks

Abstract

We propose a novel paging strategy based on the theory of optimal search with discrete effort. When compared to conventional paging methods, the proposed scheme increases the mobile station discovery rate while decreasing the average number of times that a mobile station has to be paged in a location area. The proposal is fully compatible with existing cellular structure and requires minimal computational power in the mobile switching centers. I. Introduction In order to make a more efficient use of limited wireless resources, emerging personal communication services (PCS) require much smaller cells (microcells and picocells) than those used in conventional cellular networks. Tracking the mobile stations will become a challenging task as the cell sizes shrink and the number of cells increases. In order to ensure reliable communication, a mobile station has to send/receive signaling messages from/to the base station. Depending on the system design, signaling messages serve various purp..