FiVH: A solution of inter-V-Cell handover decision for connected vehicles in ultra-dense 5G networks

Abstract

The Fifth Generation (5G) cellular network requires new solutions to new network requirements, for example, support for high-speed mobility. This paper presents a handover decision solution for connected vehicles to 5G Ultra-Dense Networks (5G-UDN). Its main goal is to treat high vehicular mobility and provide performance gains in handover for vehicles, since the densification of the cellular network causes, despite the expected capacity gain, difficulties in the cells selection, a greater number of failed and unnecessary handovers (ping-pong effect), longer delays and energy consumption, and high packet losses. The solution is based on Virtual Cells (V-Cells). The selection of the best cells is made based on complex network metrics to compose a V-Cell, as well as other criteria such as signal strength, distance, and speed. The solution relies on the Software-Defined Network (SDN) controller which has centralized network information. Simulations were conducted in Network Simulator, ns-3. The results show that the solution is effective in the treatment of vehicle handover.