Method to assess the effect of the horizontal handover decision on voice quality in wireless convergent networks

Scenarios of fixed mobile convergence services based on the combination of wireless and cellular networks through the use of multimode terminals, require the use of suitable handover techniques to maintain the communication quality, especially in real-time conversational services. Two types of handover could take place: horizontal handover between wireless access points, and vertical handover between the wireless network and the cellular network. The latter is considered to take place when no horizontal handover is possible. Since common wireless user terminals implement horizontal handover as break before make, it is necessary to reduce the total amount of unnecessary handovers, while keeping the signal strength above the system sensitivity threshold. Several handover techniques are analyzed and simulated, and a method to assess the effect of the horizontal handover on the conversational quality is illustrated using a scenario simulation.