An Improved Fault-Tolerant Model for Channel Assignment in Cellular Networks

Since the natural resources of electromagnetic spectrum are strictly administrated, the channel assignment problem (CAP) has been an important issue for mobile computing. Another important concept in mobile computing is handoff, which is also called handover. It occurs when a mobile host moves from the coverage area of one base station to the adjacent one while still involved in communication. A new channel is immediately to be assigned to continue the call. Sometimes, there aren´t more channels in this cell, it is irritating for a mobile user to break the connection. Therefore, it is desirable that the channel assignment algorithm be an improved fault tolerant. Thus, even if in the presence there are insufficient channels available in the cell, it can still continue communicating with its mobile hosts. In this paper, we design an improved fault-tolerant model for channel assignment in mobile computing. Besides considering co-channel interfence, our model considers handoff by using the reserved channel technique, borrowing/lending and locking technique. We also provide results of the performance evaluation of our algorithm.