A softer vertical handover algorithm for heterogeneous wireless access networks

Future wireless access will involve a variety of integrated and interworking technologies. Depending on the conditions (e.g., the specific application, the quality of service requirements, the user mobility) each session will be served through the most suited access network; following some event, there will be a variation of the access technology, which is called vertical handover. Although the use of one technology at a time is mostly envisioned, the use of multiple wireless links at the same time, hereafter called parallel transmission, is also envisioned for higher throughput. On the basis of parallel transmission, in this paper the original definition of softer vertical handover is given and an algorithm for softer vertical handover in heterogeneous wireless access networks is proposed; the achievable improvement is shown in two reference scenarios.