Adding Support for Satellite Interfaces to 802.21 Media Independent Handover

Mobile devices are now equipped with a broad range of wireless interfaces to connect to various access networks. Different terrestrial and satellite access networks are needed to ensure ubiquitous internet connectivity across all possible locations of mobile terminals. To support uninterrupted communications for mobile terminals in a heterogeneous wireless access environment, the IEEE 802.21 Media Independent Handover framework has been defined. This framework, however, does not include support for satellite networks, one of the key technologies in providing wireless data connectivity where wireless access infrastructure is not available (e.g. sparsely populated remote areas, see and air travel). In this work, we define and propose a reference model that allows link layer information from satellite interfaces to be presented to upper layers much like link layer information from other terrestrial interfaces supported by IEEE 802.21. Our proposal facilitates efficient Media Independent Handovers in heterogeneous access environments involving satellite networks. The satellite interface model used in this work is based on the IP-based satellite network architecture defined by ETSI, however it can be extended to cover other satellite link interface models as required.