LTE-Advanced handover: An orientation matching- based fast and reliable approach

We propose a fast and reliable target Evolved Node B (TeNB) selection scheme for Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) handover (HO). Selection of the TeNB in LTE-A HO procedure is based on signal strength requirements and thus may not be ideal. Also, during each measurement period the user equipment (UE) needs to perform scanning of multiple neighboring eNB (NeNB) frequencies resulting in delays too large for high speed services. In our scheme, the TeNB is chosen based on three different parameters: the orientation match, the current load (CL) of NeNBs and their received signal strengths (RSS). This selection based on three independent parameters makes it more reliable, enhancing HO performance. Moreover, as a UE only measures the NeNBs shortlisted based on these parameters, the measurement time is also reduced, which leads to a reduction in the overall HO time.