An Architecture for Optimized Inter-Technology Handovers: Experimental Study

With the large number of access technologies and the emergence of user mobility, the need to "access the world", anywhere and anytime has gained a significant importance. It is essential to ensure the quality of the services when moving between access networks and technologies in a transparent manner. This paper presents a new architecture that enables seamless handovers in wireless heterogeneous environments. Towards this aim, the proposed architecture combines the MIPv6 mobility management protocol, the IEEE 802.21 Media Independent Handover (MIH) framework, and a mobility control entity responsible for controlling the handover decisions in a make-before-break approach. In order to validate and evaluate this new solution, a real testbed was developed, combining Wi-Fi, WiMAX and 3G technologies. The results obtained with this experimental platform cover the analysis of the handover processes, and important aspects as the handover performance, QoS and QoE of the services while handover is taking place. The results show the significant benefits of the proposed approach.