A framework for context-aware handover decisions

Traditionally, handover decisions are made mainly based on the signal strength. However, with the evolution of mobile networks moving toward a heterogeneous solution, this simple decision mechanism is not enough any more. To choose the optimal access router among the multitude points of attachment available to the network, there is a need for a more intelligent handover decision mechanism. In this paper we provide a general framework for handover decisions which take into account the context of both the mobile network and the user. Our solution shows how to collect the context, to compile information, and to propagate it proactively. Due to the fast evolving nature of context information, our flexible framework allows one to update the decision algorithm and the context data. We present the architecture and the main components of our proposed implementation based on active networks.