Self-organizing network based handover mechanism for LTE networks

Self-Organizing Network (SON) mechanism comprises of three components of self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing which can contribute to optimize the performance of the next generation broadband network such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. The aim of this study is to propose a self-organizing handover procedure based on the Self-Organizing Network (SON) concept for LTE network. The simulation scenario and analysis on the performance of the proposed SON-based handover was conducted using the QualNet software. The two main handover parameters that have been modified are the Hysteresis (Hys) and Time-To-Trigger (TTT). The outcome of the simulation shows the network performance is better after optimizing the Hys and TTT setting of the handover parameters. In particular the LTE network shows remarkable improvement in the network throughput and smaller network delay. This study will be beneficial to future research works as the trend in the communication technologies are always changing rapidly and the self-manage mechanism will become essential for the network operators.