ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the specifications for wireless networking standards that have emerged to support a broad range of applications: wireless personal area networks (WPANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and wireless regional area networks (WRANs). It deals with interworking in heterogeneous wireless environments. Interworking mechanisms are of prime importance to achieve access and seamless mobility in heterogeneous wireless networks. Taking into account the future of existing wireless technologies and the possibility of invoking a heterogeneous environment, this chapter provides different challenges for next generation wireless multimedia system deployment. As another approach to save valuable communication resources, network coding may be adopted, and here it is envisioned as a promising relaying protocol solution for next generation wireless systems (NGWS). The application of multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) technologies is one of the most crucial distinctions between 3G and 4G systems.
