Architectural Approaches to Network and Service Access Authentication

Authentication is the first step,of central importance, for access control and for security protection in radio access networks.A general model for authentication was adopted from fixed networks and applied to the wireless world.However,the differences in the operational environment between the fixed and the wireless world,heterogeneity of the radio communications systems,new trends in service provisioning, emerging business models and performance requirements raise the need to revisit the original requirements for authentication systems and to come up with schemes that better suit current needs.In this review paper we discuss authentication in singlehop radio access networks by characterizing the current as well as the emerging authentication schemes.