Fixed channel allocation handover strategies in LEO satellite systems

For the UMTS scenario, some of the satellite components will be based on non-geostationary satellites. This mobile system will have global coverage and should aim at providing the same QoS as for fixed terrestrial networks. In a non-geostationary satellite system where cells are fixed with respect to the satellite, handover requests are frequent during the lifetime of a call. In this paper we present some strategies in order to guarantee the success of the handover procedure. An analytical approach is developed to evaluate the impact of blocking, handover failures and forced terminations