Vertical Handover Management Research Articles

An Intelligent Handover Management System for Future Generation Wireless Networks

Future generation wireless networks should provide to mobile users the best connectivity to services anywhere at anytime. The most challenging problem is the seamless intersystem/vertical mobility across heterogeneous wireless networks. In order to answer it, a vertical handover management system is needed. In our paper, we propose an intelligent solution answering user requirements and ensuring service continuity. We focus on a vertical handover decision strategy based on the context-awareness concept. The given strategy chooses the appropriate time and the most suitable access network among those available to perform a handover. It uses advanced decision algorithms (for more efficiency and intelligence) and it is governed by handover policies as decision rules (for more flexibility and optimization). To maintain a seamless service continuity, handover execution is based on mobile IP functionalities. We study our decision system in a case of a 3G/UMTS-WLAN scenario and we discuss all the handover decision issues in our solution.

Performance comparison of vertical handover strategies for psdr heterogeneous networks

In this article we suggest a vertical handover (VHO) solution able to optimize mobility management over heterogeneous networks in terms of handoff delay and signaling load. The presented strategy discriminates the best mobility protocol to be used based on a scheduling policy. It is specifically designed for an integrated network architecture to provide PSDR organizations using TETRA and TETRA2 systems with the capability to exploit WiFi and WiMAX broadband access technologies in order to enjoy advanced services. The article presents the operational scenarios where integration between TETRA and WiFi/WiMAX is needed and the main resulting benefits. Performances of the suggested VHO management scheme are described and evaluated against other protocol solutions.