Authentication across heterogeneous networks

Miroslav Živković, Milind M. Buddhikot, Ko Lagerberg, Jeroen van Bemmel
2005 Bell Labs technical journal  
In the beyond third-generation (3G) vision, the convergence of different access network technologies is realized and end-user devices are able to roam seamlessly among them. Seamless roaming requires authentication to a network, which may require interaction with an end user that results in the termination of ongoing service sessions and, therefore, inhibits seamless roaming. Furthermore, some access technologies may support a plethora of authentication protocols, making selection of the
more » ... iate method(s) of authentication challenging for an end user. We propose a solution involving single sign-on authentication that allows the end user to roam between different administrative domains and access network technologies (e.g. , wireline and wireless). Our solution integrates a number of authentication mechanisms and does not require any end-user interactions while roaming, thus enabling a seamless roaming experience. We describe a prototype implementation of this solution using General Packet Radio Service (GPRS)/Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS*)/wireless local area network (WLAN) networks and present our conclusions using measurements on this prototype. © 2005 Lucent Technologies Inc. technologies. We focus primarily on the interworking of wireless local area networks (WLANs) (with data rates of 1 Mb/s to 54 Mb/s and a cover range of up to 100 meters) and third generation (3G) mobile networks (with data rates of 64 Kb/s to 2.4 Mb/s and a cover range of a few kilometers), because these networks (which have complementary characteristics) will coexist and will compete to offer network access to end users. However, the issues, principles, and solutions we outline may be applicable to the integration of other wireline and wireless technologies as well.
doi:10.1002/bltj.20093 fatcat:h5zwo65ipjdgfddznex24zuv4e