Probability of handoff to neighbor cells for random waypoint mobility and non-ideal conditions

The handoff process allows users to move while their communication is handled by different antennas in the network. A proper configuration of network´s parameters is required in order to guarantee a given QoS for both moving and static users. Prediction of the next cell to which a user may need to connect in the near future may help to better allocate resources in the network and to guarantee the continuity of the communication. In previous works, analytical results for these predictions for nodes moving according to the Random Waypoint mobility model have been presented. However, the mathematical analysis is only possible for simple cases with ideal conditions of propagation and handoff strategy. In this paper, simulation results for the proposed model are presented under different radio channel conditions and handoff strategies. First, the study validates the existing analytical model for ideal conditions. Second, the results prove that the probability of handoff increases under non-ideal radio channel conditions. Moreover, a different handoff strategy may lead to relevant differences in the prediction, thus proving that the handoff strategy has a strong impact on the network performance.