UbiComm:: An adaptive vertical handoff decision scheme for heterogeneous wireless networks

Vertical handoff will be essential for the next generation heterogeneous wireless networks. We propose an Adaptive Vertical Handoff Decision Scheme called UbiComm to avoid unbeneficial handoffs in the integrated WiBro and WLAN networks. If the mobile node (MN)'s velocity is high and moving pattern is irregular, more unnecessary handoffs can occur. Therefore, MN's velocity and moving pattern are the important factors of our handoff decision scheme. In order to avoid unbeneficial handoff the UbiComm adjusts the dwell time adaptively, and it also predicts the residence time in the target network. In addition, UbiComm's adaptive dwell timer makes a MN receive service of a better network as long as possible. The simulation results show that the reduction of unnecessary handoffs proposed in UbiComm improves the MN's throughput.