A relay-assisted handover technique with network coding over multihop cellular networks

A relay-assisted handover technique exploiting network coding for multihop cellular networks is described. In the scheme, each MS (Mobile Station) in the outer region receives data related to the home cell from the home BS (Base Station) as well as a coded version of data related to a neighboring BS from a relay node located in the cell boundary via the use of network coding. Thus, MSs can achieve more reliable macro diversity with the assistance of the relay-based handover technique. In a simulation, it is demonstrated that this technique is very effective in maintaining QoS (Quality of Service) in terms of outage probability over a multi-cell environment.