Network-based seamless handover framework providing QoS in heterogeneous wireless networks

In this paper, we propose the QoS-aware seamless handover framework which coordinates IEEE 802.21 Media Independent Handover (MIH) services and IETF Fast handover for MIPv6 (FMIPv6), suited for heterogeneous wireless access networks. We further evaluate the performance of the proposed framework by using numerical analysis. The proposed framework focuses on the intelligent selection of access networks depending on the QoS criteria in order to guarantee QoS. We further concentrate on the network-based service and the balance in order to facilitate the handover across heterogeneous wireless access networks. As a result, it is verified that the proposed framework significantly reduces both handover latency and signaling overhead, and thus improves QoS performance.