Mobile Agents in the Mobile Telephone Network Management

The paper discusses the application of mobile agents in the management of mobile telephone (cellular) networks. We propose the use of mobile agents for collecting subscriber information, such as location area identifier and cell identifier. By using a subscriber profile containing these data the signaling messages caused by location update could be reduced. We also propose a method to improve the quality of network coverage by collecting measurements data by a mobile agent in the mobile station (mobile phone) or at the mobile switching center. By analyzing these data the network provider would be able to discover areas without proper radio signal coverage (black holes), thereby avoiding expensive and time-consuming measurements done by specially equipped vehicles. In addition, we discuss the basic infrastructure requirements for deployment of the mobile agent technology in cellular networks.