A predictive handover scheme to improve service quality in the IEEE 802.21 network

The Media Independent Handover (MIH) standard defined in the IEEE 802.21 specification supports vertical handovers across heterogeneous networks. A cross-layer scheduling scheme is proposed to exploit Link Going Down information from MIH to predict handover requirements, and then improve the performance of Quality of Service (QoS) enabled transport services given the limited radio spectrum available for handovers in a heterogeneous network environment. According to simulation results, the proposed scheme can effectively increase the effective range of QoS sensitive services at the cell border while executing the handover procedure.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Handover prediction techniques are used to improve Quality of Service. ► Link Going Down information is used as a determining factor for handover prediction. ► The proposed scheme can increase the effective range during handovers. ► The scheme allows QoS-sensitive applications to run more smoothly.