A QoS-based handover initiation algorithm for wireless systems

In this paper a novel handover initiation algorithm is proposed for next generation wireless systems, in the presence of a generic packet access protocol. By propel monitoring of the sequence of packets that may be lost due to channel impairments, handover triggering can be strictly related to the Quality of Service (QoS) parameter of the source. In particular, a threshold length of the sequence of lost packet is used as a handover criterion for delay sensitive sources. In a long-normal shadowing environment, the algorithm performance is derived analytically. Simulation is also used to validate the approximations introduced in the analysis. From numerical results it is seen that the novel algorithm can provide better performance than typical signal strength algorithms used in second generation mobile radio systems. Moreover, the proposed approach is rather general and may apply to a large class of sources and access protocols.