The multiple-call hand-off problem in high-capacity cellular communications systems

The author presents a preliminary analytical model that characterizes the central issues of the hand-off problem when vehicles can support multiple calls simultaneously. In such cases a cell boundary crossing by a single vehicle can generate multiple hand-off attempts. A suitable vector state representation is identified which casts the problem as a multidimensional birth-death process. An iterative method is used to find implicit hand-off parameters for systems in statistical equilibrium. Theoretical performance characteristics that show blocking, hand-off failure, and forced termination probabilities as functions of communication traffic are determined