IEEE 802.21 based multihoming approach to vertical handover in heterogeneous networks

Seamless vertical handover is in great focus in contemporary world of research. Multi-interfaced mobile devices are introduced in the market to enable heterogeneous access. The main problem is how to efficiently use these multi-interfaced devices to achieve best data throughput, reduced packet loss and optimized handover. In this paper, the advantages of multihoming approach have been combined with IEEE 802.21 Media Independent Handover (MIH) to achieve simultaneous access at available networks. The MIH services are used to achieve link layer information earlier than the handover execution. The simultaneous binding option of multihoming is used to achieve soft handover so that multiple interfaces can be efficiently used.