Optimized MIH designfor Handover over Next Generation Wireless Networks

Next Generation Wireless Networks (NGWNs) are expected to be heterogeneous networks which integrate different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as 3GPP’s Long Term Evolution (LTE) and IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN). The integration of heterogeneous wireless networks poses several challenges. One of the major challenges is vertical handover management. Vertical handover occurs when a Mobile Node (MN) decides to switch between networks of diverse technologies. In this paper, we present a new scheme for vertical handover management in NGWNs. We consider the Media Independent Handover architecture (MIH), proposed by the IEEE 802.21 working group in order to provide the required information for handover and mobility management entities. The performance analysis shows that the proposed approach efficiently uses the network resources by switching between LTE and WLAN to offer best connectivity to the users.It is observed that resource utilization ratio increases to (99%) and the integration of LTE with WLAN using the proposed algorithm reduces the call dropping probability (less than 0.15 for Voice over IP service when switching to LTE network) and call blocking probability for data service (less than 0.24).