Service publishing to support an efficient 802.11 network selection

In this paper, we deal with the problem of network selection in a multi-access and multi-service 802.11 environment. First of all, we propose a feasible, short-term 802.11-tailored solution for service publishing to support a proper and rapid network selection. We suggest to publish service information encoded within the SSID. This makes it possible for an operator to implement a service publishing compliant with existing equipments while waiting for a standardized mechanism. Then, by processing the results of a measurement campaign, we present a quantitative comparison of service discovery times between the legacy scenario, where the user is forced to associate and authenticate with a network point of access to check its service offer, and the enhanced scenario where the set of service-related information is broadcasted within beacons. This analysis confirms the effectiveness of the beacon-based approach.