Probability of handoff for users moving with the Random Waypoint mobility model

Users in a cellular network are allowed to move freely while the network handoffs their calls or data transfers among different access points. Studies demonstrate that the mobility pattern followed by the users has an impact on some metrics strongly related to the performance (i.e., handoff rate, cell residence time, etc). Some aspects of the Random Waypoint mobility model have been studied in depth, but relating those studies with different possible layouts for the access points still remains an open issue. The interest in forecasting the next cell where the device may be handed off is twofold: 1. it gives a deeper insight into the statistical study of the mobility model; 2. it is useful to manage the resource allocation to improve the performance. The goal of this paper is to provide an analytical framework for these predictions in a symmetric layout composed of four circular cells covering a circular area. Equations are provided along with numerical examples for a given scenario.