LTE-A interworking for seamless service provisioning

Following the Always Best Connection (ABC) principle of the 4th generation wireless networks users of mobile services would be provided with connectivity to the best access technology all the time. In such a context mobile devices are equipped with multiple radio interfaces allowing connectivity to the most suitable network environment based on users requirements and operators policies. Seamless vertical handover plays the key role for mobility across various access networks offering service continuity to users. In this paper seamless handover solutions are presented between 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) and non-3GPP wireless access technologies utilizing functionalities of the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network of the LTE-A, as well as, of the IEEE 802.21 standard. The schemes presented provide low latencies while supporting services QoS constraints, as well as, user requirements and provider policies.