An Intelligent Handover Management System for Future Generation Wireless Networks

• Main Authors: Guy Pujolle, Brigitte Kervella, Meriem Kassar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SpringerOpen 2008-11-01
• Series: EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2008/791691

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.