Handoff

❖ Handoff basically involves change of radio resources from

one cell to another adjacent cell.
 Handoff
Definition
In cellular communications, the handoff is the process of
transferring an active call or data session from one cell in a
cellular network or from one channel to another. In satellite
communications, it is the process of transferring control from
one earth station to another. Handoff is necessary for
preventing loss of interruption of service to a caller or a
data session user. Handoff is also called handover.
Basic view of Handoff
 Handoff….
Situations for triggering Handoff
Handoffs are triggered in any of the following situations −
•If a subscriber who is in a call or a data session moves out of coverage of
one cell and enters coverage area of another cell, a handoff is triggered for a
continuum of service. The tasks that were being performed by the first cell
are delineating to the latter cell.
•Each cell has a pre-defined capacity, i.e. it can handle only a specific
number of subscribers. If the number of users using a particular cell reaches
its maximum capacity, then a handoff occurs. Some of the calls are
transferred to adjoining cells, provided that the subscriber is in the
overlapping coverage area of both the cells.
 Handoff….
•Cells are often sub-divided into microcells. A handoff may occur
when there is a transfer of duties from the large cell to the smaller
cell and vice versa. For example, there is a traveling user moving
within the jurisdiction of a large cell. If the traveler stops, then the
jurisdiction is transferred to a microcell to relieve the load on the
large cell.
•Handoffs may also occur when there is an interference of calls
using the same frequency for communication
 Types of Handoffs
There are two types of handoffs −
•Hard Handoff − In a hard handoff, an actual break in the
connection occurs while switching from one cell to another. The
radio links from the mobile station to the existing cell is broken
before establishing a link with the next cell. It is generally an
inter-frequency handoff. It is a “break before make” policy.
Hard Handoff
 Types of Handoffs

Soft Handoff − In soft handoff, at least one of the links is

kept when radio links are added and removed to the mobile
station. This ensures that during the handoff, no break
occurs. This is generally adopted in co-located sites. It is a
“make before break” policy.
Soft Handoff
 Mobile Associated Handoff (MAHO)
• Definition: MAHO is a technique to transfer a mobile phone to a new
radio channel with stronger signal strength and improved channel quality.
• Mobile Assisted Handoff (MAHO) is a technique in which the mobile
devices assist the Base Station Controller (BSC) to transfer a call to
another BSC. It is used in GSM cellular networks.
• In other systems, like AMPS, a handoff is solely the job of the BSC and
the Mobile Switching Centre (MSC), without any participation of the
mobile device. However, in GSM, when a mobile station is not using its
time slots for communicating, it measures signal quality to nearby BSC
and sends this information to the BSC. The BSC performs handoff
according to this information
 Mobile-Controlled Handoff
• In mobile-controlled handoff, each MS is completely in control of the
handoff process. This type of handoff has a short reaction time (on the
order of 0.1 second).
• MS measures the signal strengths from surrounding BSs and
interference levels on all channels.
• A handoff can be initiated if the signal strength of the serving BS is
lower than that of another BS by a certain threshold.
 Network-Controlled Handoff
• In a network-controlled handoff protocol, the network makes a
handoff decision based on the measurements of the MSs at a number
of BSs.
• In general, the handoff process (including data transmission, channel
switching, and network switching) takes 100–200 ms. Information
about the signal quality for all users is available at a single point in
the network that facilitates appropriate resource allocation.
• Network-controlled handoff is used in first-generation analog systems
such as AMPS (advanced mobile phone system), TACS (total access
communication system), and NMT (advanced mobile phone system).
 Drop Call Rate (DCR)
• DCR is a measure of the percentage of phone calls that are
disconnected before they are completed.
• Drop Call Rate (DCR) is a performance metric used in
telecommunications to measure the percentage of phone calls that
are disconnected or dropped before they are completed. A dropped
call occurs when a connection between two callers is terminated
unexpectedly due to a network failure, poor signal quality, or other
issues.
 How is DCR calculated?
• DCR is calculated by dividing the number of dropped calls by the total
number of attempted calls. The resulting percentage is the DCR rate.
For example, if 100 calls are attempted and 10 are dropped, the DCR
rate is 10%.
• DCR rates are typically measured over a specific period of time, such
as an hour, a day, or a month. This allows telecommunications
companies to track performance over time and identify trends or
patterns that may indicate issues that need to be addressed.
 HANDOFF INITIATION
• Relative Signal Strength: This method selects the strongest received
BS at all times. The decision is based on a mean measurement of the
received signal.
• Relative Signal Strength with Threshold: This method allows a MS
to hand off only if the current signal is sufficiently weak (less than
threshold) and the other is the stronger of the two. The effect of the
threshold depends on its relative value as compared to the signal
strengths of the two BSs at the point at which they are equal.
• Relative Signal Strength with Hysteresis: This scheme allows a user
to hand off only if the new BS is sufficiently stronger than the current
one.
 HANDOFF INITIATION
• Relative Signal Strength with Hysteresis and Threshold: This
scheme hands a MS over to a new BS only if the current signal level
drops below a threshold and the target BS is stronger than the current
one by a given hysteresis margin.
• Prediction Techniques: Prediction techniques base the handoff
decision on the expected future value of the received signal strength. A
technique has been proposed and simulated to indicate better results,
in terms of reduction in the number of unnecessary handoffs, than the
relative signal strength, both without and with hysteresis, and
threshold methods