Chapter Four

Cellular Handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 1/20

 Outline

◊ Handover

◊ Handoff Failures

◊ Handover In GSM
Cellular Handover

◊ Handover In UMTS

◊ Handover Performance Metrics

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 2/20
 Handover

 What is handover?
 Handover refers to a process of transferring an ongoing call or data session from one channel
connected to the core network to another.

 Process of transferring a MS from one base station to another.

 Handover means changing the point of connection without disrupting ongoing

communication.
Cellular Handover

 Also called as Handoff.

 Very important for the correct operation of a cellular network.

 Necessary to ensure that telecommunication can be performed without any call disruption.

 Otherwise, dropped calls would occur more frequently.

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 3/20
 Handover
 As the user travels from one sector to the
next, the radio channels for the user
must switch to maintain the
communications between the user and
the cellular network.

Such handoff is carried out differently

for different cellular systems.
Cellular Handover

1) Connect to BS1 & start conversation

2) Moving out of BS1’s coverage
3) Moving out of BS2’s coverage
4) Conversation ended – still within
BS3’s coverage

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 4/20

 Handover

 Preliminaries

 When will a handoff occur?

 Some primary reason is listed below

 If signals between the MS & BS go down from threshold value, then

handoff is required.
Cellular Handover

 It will allow the mobile station to continue voice calls while moving in a
high-speed vehicle.

 Less call drop & congestion rate, which increases network performance.

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 5/20

 Handover

 Handover Theory
 Handover is made when the signal is below a threshold received signal.

 Define Δ as the difference between the threshold received signal level

(𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 ) and the minimum acceptable signal level (𝑷𝒎𝒊𝒏,𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 )
∆ = 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 − 𝑷𝒎𝒊𝒏,𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆
Cellular Handover

 Δ too small → too many lost calls

 Δ too large → too many handovers

 Δ depends on many factors such as environment, mobile speed and time to

perform handover.

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 6/20

 Handover

 Handover Successful
The below method is the general format of
HO.
1) MS monitors signal strength regularly of
the adjacent base station.
2) In case of signals drop & reach to a min
acceptable level, then MS acknowledges
BS.
Cellular Handover

3) BS checks channel availability & informs

nearby BS about new incoming MS.
4) The old BS sends MS info to a new BS.
Δ is large enough, when
5) When a new BS receives MS detail than
the 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 is
the old BS free channel for other users. reached, the MSC
6) Now the MS is served by the new BS. initiates the handoff.
Hassan TERMOS, PhD 7/20
 Handover

 Handover Unsuccessful
In this case, the MSC was unable to perform the handoff before the signal level dropped
below the minimum usable level, and so the call was lost.
Cellular Handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 8/20

 Handover

 Handoff Failures
 The reason of handoff failures
 No channel is available on selected BS.

 ∆ too small (i.e. 𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 too low)

 High mobile speeds

Cellular Handover

 MS has exceeded some limit on the number of handoffs that may be

attempted in some period of time.

 It takes the network too long to set up the handoff after it has been initiated.

 The target link fails in some way during the execution of handoff.
Hassan TERMOS, PhD 9/20
 Handover

 Handover In GSM
 Four types of handover

 Intra cell or Intra BTS handover

 Inter cell or Intra-BSC handover

Cellular Handover

 Inter-BSC or intra MSC handover

 Inter-MSC handover

 Handovers are usually hard handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 10/20

 Handover

 Handover In GSM
 Handover types
Cellular Handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 11/20

 Handover

 Handover In GSM
 Four types of handover
 Intra cell or Intra BTS handover
 A new channel in the same BTS is assigned to the MS.
 Usually performed when the received signal quality (RXQUAL) in the
uplink or downlink are bad while the signal level (RXLEV) is good.
Cellular Handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 12/20

 Handover

 Handover In GSM
 Four types of handover
 Inter Cell, Inter BTS or Intra-BSC Handover

 An MS changes the BTS but not the BSC.

 Occurs when moving from one BTS

Cellular Handover

coverage area into another BTS.

 Both BTS are controlled by the same BSC.

 The BSC assigns the new channel for the

MS.
Hassan TERMOS, PhD 13/20
 Handover

 Handover In GSM
 Four types of handover
 Inter BSC or Intra-MSC Handover
 MS changes BTS and BSC
 Occurs when moving from one BTS
coverage area into another BTS
Cellular Handover

 Both BTSs are controlled by different

BSCs
 The MSC is in charge of the handover
 Handover decision is however made by
the BSC
Hassan TERMOS, PhD 14/20
 Handover

 Handover In GSM
 Four types of handover
 Inter-MSC Handover
 Occurs when moving from
one BTS coverage area into
another BTS.

BTSs are controlled by

Cellular Handover


different BSCs.
 BSCs are controlled by
different MSCs
 The two MSC negotiate to
handle the handover
Hassan TERMOS, PhD 15/20
 Handover

 Handover In UMTS

 Hard handover

 Soft handover
Cellular Handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 16/20

 Handover

 Handover In UMTS
 Hard handover

 Connection must be broken before the new one is established. Example:

when frequencies are changed.

 Can be inter-frequency or intra-frequency.

Cellular Handover

 Intra-frequency mobility is when a mobile moves between two cells

and both cells have the same frequencies. If there is a change in the
center frequency this is now called inter-frequency mobility.

 The break is normally short enough not to be noticed by the user.

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 17/20

 Handover

 Mechanism of Hard Handover

 The base station BS1 on one cell site hands off the mobile station (MS)’s call to
another cell BS2.
 The link to the prior base station, BS1 is terminated before the user is
transferred to the new cell’s base station, BS2. The MS is linked to no more than
one BS at any given time.
Cellular Handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 18/20

 Handover

 Handover In UMTS
 Soft handover
 The mobile is in an overlapping coverage area of two cells
 The mobile receives signals from both BSs at the same time
Cellular Handover

Hassan TERMOS, PhD 19/20

 Handover

 Handover Performance Metrics

 Handoff blocking probability: probability that a handoff cannot be successfully
completed.

 Handoff probability: probability that a handoff occurs before call termination.

 Rate of handoff: number of handoffs per unit time

Cellular Handover

 Interruption duration: duration of time during a handoff in which a mobile is

not connected to either base station

 Handoff delay: distance the mobile moves from the point at which the handoff
should occur to the point at which it does occur.
Hassan TERMOS, PhD 20/20