Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) Handover and Packet Data Performance Analysis

UMA is a technology helping cellular operators to retain control over subscribers in the era of converging radio access technologies. By supporting handovers to and from WiFi networks, UMA seems to be a perfect solution as new mobile services require performance and seamless mobility. From the cellular operator point of view UMA does not require enormous investments and is a good choice for extending network coverage. This research paper discusses the technical implications of UMA based on measurement results for GSM to WiFi handovers and packet data performance. The measurements show that UMA works well, and voice handover breaks are similar or lower than those experienced in traditional GSM systems. In addition, UMA provides a considerably higher throughput than GSM systems. The results showed that the average throughput is twice or more than in GSM. Therefore, the user experience for data services improves to 3G-kind of services.