Chapter 4

Handoff Management
Radio Link Transfer
 Introduction
– There are several alternatives for classifying
link transfer procedures.
– hard handoff-oriented or
– soft handoff-oriented.
 Hard Handoff
• For hard handoff, the mobile station (MS)
connects with only one base station (BS)
at a time, and there is usually some
interruption in the conversation during the
link transition.
• Hard handoff is typically used in TDMA
and FDMA systems.
 Soft Handoff
• The MS receives /transmits the same sign
als from/to multiple BSs simultaneously.
• The network must combine the signals fro
m the multiple BSs in some way.
• Thus soft handoff is more complicated tha
n hard handoff.
 Outline
• Hard handoff for mobile-controlled handoff
(MCHO), network-controlled handoff (NCH
O), mobile-assisted handoff (MAHO), subr
ating under TDMA systems,
• Soft handoff for MAHO under CDMA syste
ms or some TDMA systems with macro div
ersity.
 4.1 Link Transfer Types
– Two operations must take place for a
successful link transfer:
– The radio link must be transferred from the old
BS to the new BS.
– The network must bridge the link to the new
BS into the existing call and drop the link to
the old BS.
 Link transfer
– Link transfer can be made from one channel to anoth
er channel on the same BS or from one BS to another
BS, which subtends the same controller or switch.
– In these two cases, the network operation is relatively
simple.
– Alternatively, the handoff can take place between BS
s whose common point is much higher in the switchin
g hierarchy of the network, in which case, the network
operation can be expensive, time-consuming, and diffi
cult.
 Link Transfer cases:
– Intracell handoff.
– Intercell handoff or inter-BS handoff.
– Inter-BSC handoff.
– Intersystem handoff or inter-MSC handoff.
– Intersystem handoff between two PCS networ
ks.
 Intracell handoff.
• The link transfer is performed between two
time slots or channels in the same BS. For
a TDMA system, intracell handoff is also r
eferred to as time slot transfer (TST).
Intercell handoff or inter-BS handoff.

• The link transfer is performed between two

BSs attached to the same base station co
ntroller (BSC); see Figure 4.1(a).
 Inter-BSC handoff.
• The link is transferred between two BSs co
nnected to different BSCs on the same mo
bile switching center (MSC); see Figure 4.
1(b).
 Intersystem handoff or inter-MSC
handoff.
• The link transfer takes place at two BSs co
nnected to different BSCs on different MS
Cs; see Figure 4.1(c).
 Intersystem handoff between two
PCS networks.
• The link transfer is between two BSs conn
ected to different MSCs homing to differen
t PCS networks.
 Handoff effect
• holding time: 60 seconds.
• 0.5 inter-BS handoffs,
• 0.1 inter-BSC handoffs, and
• 0.05 inter-MSC handoffs.
4.2 Hard Handoff
 MCHO Link Transfer
• In MCHO, when a handoff is needed, a
new radio channel is selected by the MS,
and a handoff request message is
transmitted by the MS to the new BS.
• The handoff can also be initiated by the
network. It is, however, still the
responsibility of the MS to choose the best
BS.
 Failure case
• In the case of a handoff failure, the MS link-
quality maintenance process must decide what
to do next.
• There are several possibilities. The MS may
choose to:
– Initiate another handoff to the "next best" channel.
– Simply stay on the old channel.
– Try again later.
– Perform some other action appropriate for the
situation.
MCHO
 MCHO message flow for inter-BS
handoff
• Step 1. To initiate handoff, the MS temporarily
suspends the voice conversation by sending a
link suspend message to the old BS.
• Step 2. The MS sends a handoff request
message through an idle time slot of the new BS
to the network.
• Step 3. The new BS sends a handoff
acknowledgment message and marks the slot
busy. The network may check other parameters
to ensure that it wishes to complete the handoff.
• Step 4. Upon receipt of the handoff acknowledgment
message from the network, the MS returns to the old
assigned channel by sending a link resume message to
the old BS.
• Step 5. The MS continues voice communication while
the network prepares for the handoff.
• Step 6. Upon receipt of a handoff request message, the
new BS checks if it already controls this call. If so, it is an
intra-BS handoff. The BS sends a handoff
acknowledgment message and reconfigures itself to
effect the handoff. If it is an inter-BS handoff, the new BS
acquires the cipher key from the old BS through the
MSC. This session privacy key is transferred to the
privacy coder associated with the new channel.
• Step 7. The MSC inserts a bridge into the conver
sation path and bridges in the new BS.
• Steps 8 and 10. Finally, the network informs the
MS to execute the handoff via both the old and n
ew BSs by sending the handoff execution messa
ges, 8 and 10, respectively.
• Step 9. The MS releases the old channel by sen
ding an access release message to the old BS.
Note that messages 8 and 9 are not exchanged i
f the old channel fails before the new channel is
established.
• Step 11. Once the MS has made the
transfer to the new BS, it sends the
network a handoff complete message
through the new channel, and resumes
voice communication. The network can
then remove the bridge from the path and
free up resources associated with the old
channel.
• Bridges used for handoff should be inserted as quickly
as possible. Bridges used in existing switching systems
(such as "loudest talker" and "additive" bridges) may be
adequate. However, it is possible that specific
characteristics will be required in the future, possibly
necessitating specialized bridges.
• DECT follows a similar MCHO procedure except that the
selected new channel and the old channel may use the
same carrier frequency. In this case, the MS does not
need to switch frequency; this DECT handoff is referred
to as seamless handoff.
4.2.2 MAHO/NCHO Link Transfer
 MAHO/NCHO Link Transfer
• Step 1. The MS transmits the radio link measurement re
port to the old BS. In GSM, this information is updated ev
ery 0.5 seconds.
• Step 2. When the old BS determines that a handoff is re
quired, it sends a handoff required message to the MSC.
In terms of actions on the network side, the handoff is ori
ginated by the old BS in MAHO/NCHO, whereas in MCH
O, the handoff is initiated by the new BS.
• Step 3. When the MSC receives the handoff required me
ssage, it examines the list of the candidate BSs supplied
by the old BS and selects the highest-ranked BS with an
available channel. Then it sends a handoff request mess
age to the new BS-the target BS for handoff.
• Steps 4 and 5. When the new BS acknowledges
the request, the MSC sends the handoff comma
nd message with the information regarding the n
ew BS and the ItF channel to the old BS.
• Step 6. The old BS commands the MS to transfe
r the link to the new BS.
• Step 7. The MS tunes to the new RF channel, es
tablishes the channel to the new BS, and sends t
he handoff complete message to the new BS.
• Steps 8 and 9. The new BS informs the
MSC of the handoff completion by the
handoff complete message. The MSC
then clears the link to the old BS by the
clear command message.
• Step 10. The handoff procedure is
complete when the old BS acknowledges
the clear command message.
• In MAHO or NCHO, the handoff command to the MS-
message 6 in Figure 4.3-is sent over the failing link. The
handoff procedure fails if the MS does not receive this
message. In MCHO, the handoff request message-
message 2 in Figure 4.2-is sent by the MS to the new BS
on the new, more reliable, link. As a result, the success
of the handoff does not depend on any signaling
message over the failing link. Another advantage of
MCHO is that it is not necessary to transmit
measurement information via the air interface, thus
reducing the signaling overhead required to maintain the
call.
4.2.3 Subrating MCHO Link Transf
er
• The procedure of subrating a full-rate chan
nel into subrated channels for a handoff re
quest consists of three parts:
• 1.Requesting the handoff.
• 2.Subrating an existing call.
• 3.Assigning the newly created subrated ch
annel to the MS requesting the handoff.
Subrating procedure
 Subrating procedure
• Step 1. When Nlshandoff detects the need for a handoff, it attempts
to seize an available traffic channel. If an idle channel is found, the li
nk transfer follows the MCHO procedure described in Section 4.2.1.
If no traffic channels are available, the MS synchronizes to a commo
n signaling channel (CSC) and transmits a priority access request m
essage.
• Step 2. The new BS responds with either a priority channel assignm
ent message or a priority access acknowledgment message. In the f
ormer case, the BS has a nonbusy channel, which it can immediatel
y make available to the MS. In the latter case, the BS does not have
an available channel and is simply acknowledging the receipt of the
request message. The MS must continue to monitor the CSC for a p
riority channel assignment message. If no channel is available withi
n a timeout period, the handoff call is forced to terminate.
• Steps 3 and 4. An existing caller, MSeX;sting, receives a
time slot transfer message commanding it to perform a ti
me slot transfer to a subrated channel. This action frees
up a subrated channel for MShandoff, the MS requesting
the handoff. This message is acknowledged by the trans
mission of the transfer complete message. The time slot
transfer message is used by the MS to command an MS
C to transfer the time slot in the same BS. The new time
slot could be a subrated channel of the currently used ful
l-rate traffic channel. This same message is sent to retur
n both calls to full-rate time slots once a traffic channel b
ecomes available.
• Step 5. MShanaoff is informed of the newly avail
able subrated traffic channel via the priority chan
nel assignment message.
• Steps 6 and 7. After receiving it, the MS synchro
nizes to the available channel and transmits a ha
ndoff request message, which will be answered
by the handoff complete message. The subrated
channels are switched back to full-rate channels
immediately after some occupied channels are r
eleased, as shown in steps 812 in Figure 4.4.
• Step 8. When a user, Weaving/ terminates an existing ca
ll or performs its own handoff away from the BS, it trans
mits an access release message and releases its chann
el. The released channel may be either a full-rate chann
el or a subrated channel. Assuming that the channel is fu
ll-rate, the channel is not made available for access this t
ime. Instead, two subrated channels are switched back t
o full-rate channels, as described in the next steps.
• Steps 9-12. The released full-rate channel is assigned to
either MSeXisting or Nlshandoff through the timeslot tran
sfer and transfer complete message exchange; both of t
hese users now enjoy full-rate transmission.
 Emergency access
• It follows that this access protocol
should be generalized to also include a
means for emergency access. To
accomplish this, the message elements of
the priority access request and the priority
access acknowledgment messages should
include an access random number to
resolve collisions and to temporarily
identify the MS requesting priority access,
the type
 4.3 Soft Handoff
• Before we discuss soft handoff, we first introduce the code division multiple access (C
DMA) direct sequence spread spectrum technology. In this approach, the information-
bearing signal is multiplied with another fasterrate, wider-bandwidth digital signal that
may carry a unique orthogonal code. This second signal is referred to as a pseudo-no
ise sequence (PN sequence). The mixed signal looks very similar to a noise signal, b
ut contains the information signal embedded in its code. The mixing operation is calle
d "spreading." To recover the information-bearing signal, the receiving end must use t
he same PN sequence to "despread" the mixed signal. Thus, CDMA allows many use
rs to share a common frequency/ time channel for transmission, and the user signals
are distinguished by spreading them with different PN sequences. Also, an MS can tr
ansmit/ receive the same information to/from several BSs if they have the same PN s
equence. In other words, in a CDMA-based mobile system, an MS may simultaneousl
y receive/send the same information from/to several BSs using multiple radio links. T
he signaling and voice information from multiple BSs are typically combined (or bridg
ed) at the MSC, and the MSC selects the highest-quality signals from the BSs. Simila
rly, voice and signaling information must be sent from the MSC to multiple BSs, and t
he MS must combine the results. Thus, within the overlap area of two cells, an MS ca
n simultaneously connect to both the old and the new BSs, and the link transfer proce
dure is no longer time-critical.
• The following subsections describe the procedures for adding and removin
g BSs with MAHO soft handoff.
 4.3.1 Adding a New BS
• CDMA BSs transmit pilot signals that assist MSs
to track/ synchronize the BS downlink signals. T
he MSs measure the strength of the pilot signals
of the serving BSs, that is, the old BS and the su
rrounding BSs. If the pilot signal strength of a sur
rounding BS-the new BS-exceeds a threshold, th
en the link between the MS and the new BS is e
stablished. The MAHO procedure of adding a ne
w link to an MS is described in the following step
s. The message flow is illustrated in Figure 4.5.
 Adding a New BS
• Step 1. The MS sends a pilot strength
measurement message to the old BS, indicating
the new BS to be added.
• Steps 2 and 3. The old BS sends a handoff
request message to the MSC. If the MSC
accepts the handoff request, it sends a handoff
request message to the new BS.
• Step 4.The new BS sends a null traffic message
to the MS to prepare the establishment of the
communication link.
• Steps 5 and 6. The new BS sends a join request
message to the MSC. The MSC bridges the con
nection for the two BSs, as described in Chapter
4, Section 4.2.2, so that the handoff can be proc
essed without breaking the connection.
• Steps 7-10. The new BS sends a handoff ackno
wledgment message to the old BS via the MSC.
The old BS instructs the MS to add a link to the
new BS by exchanging handoff command and h
andoff complete messages.
• Steps 11-14. The old BS and the MSC
conclude this procedure by exchanging
the required handoff information. The
quality of the new link is guaranteed by the
exchange of the pilot measurement
request and the pilot strength
measurement message pair between the
MS and the new BS.
• In soft handoff MAHO, the link between
the MS and the old BS may be of good
quality. On the other hand, in hard handoff
MAHO, the MS and the old BS typically
communicate through a failing link.
 4.3.2 Dropping a BS
• If the signal strength on the link between a
BS and the MS falls below a
predetermined threshold, the MS requests
to remove the BS. Assume that the old BS
is to be dropped. The MAHO procedure of
dropping an old link from an MS is
described in the following steps.
Dropping a BS
 Drooping a BS
• Steps 1-3. The MS sends a pilot strength
message to the old BS to remove the BS
with the failing link. The old BS and the
MS exchange the handoff command
message pair to remove the link.
• Steps 4 and 5. The old BS sends the
relevant call record information to the new
BS by exchanging the interface primary
transfer message pair.
• Steps 6-9. The new BS and the MSC exchange t
he handoff information message pair to indicate t
he failing link to be dropped. Then the new BS a
nd the MS exchange the pilot measurement mes
sage pair to ensure that the communication betw
een the MS and the network can be continued af
ter dropping the failing link to the old BS.
• Steps 10 and 11. The MSC and the old BS exch
ange the remove link message pair to remove th
e bridge between the new and the old BSs and o
ther resources.
• In addition to soft handoff, two other types
of link transfer are defined for IS-95 CDMA:
softer handoff and hard handoff.
–~ In many existing IS-95 cellular systems,
a BS is designed with threesector directional a
ntenna. Softer handoff occurs when the MS is
in handoff between two different sectors at the
same BS.
– Cal
Handoff Management: Radio Link
Transfer
– Hard handoff occurs in IS-95 systems when th
e two BSs connected tc an MS are not synchr
onized or are not on the same frequency band.