Vertical handoff initiation using road topology and mobility prediction

Interworking in heterogeneous wireless networks is one of the key objectives in the next generation networks (NGN). Handoff between cellular and wireless local area networks (WLANs) can help achieve this aim. In this paper, a new method for decision-making on vertical handoff initiation is proposed which is on the basis of road topology information and mobility prediction. The main distinction between the proposed algorithm and previous research is exploitation of road topology map of the destination hotspot within a cellular network. Mobile terminal speed, WLAN dynamic traffic in the destination hotspot, and topology information are used to decide on suitability of vertical handoff depending on user´s current situation. Simulation results verified that this method outperforms the traditional algorithm in which topology information is not used