Classification of handover schemes within a cellular environment

One way to improve system performance of cellular networks is to use efficient handover schemes when users change between cells. The paper gives an overview of existing handover schemes for current and future systems; it is presented in the form of a classification in order to support future development in handover schemes. The classification categorises the different schemes into two main classes: a horizontal and a vertical class. Whilst the vertical class is based on the concepts that the schemes adopt, the horizontal class is based on how mobile hosts identify the new potential base station(s) (based on received signals or some kind of prediction techniques). The handover schemes in the vertical classification fall into two main categories, rerouting and channel allocation schemes. The different handover schemes are briefly outlined with some of the advantages and disadvantages of the individual approaches.