MIH and CRRM Handover in Trusted or Untrusted Environments

Abstract

In a cross-region communication system, when a mobile node (referred to as MN), such as a mobile phone, reaches the boundary of a network, it is necessary to consider the relationship among the home network (H-Net), the service network (S-Net) and the target network (T-Net), and whether the three mobile operators mutually trust each other or not. Handover between two mutually untrusted networks is a huge engineering challenge because it needs to exchange base station information of the two networks in real time. In this untrusted environment, the process for MN to handover from S-Net to its T-Net will be more complicated and take longer time than that when S-Net and T-Net are mutually trusted. The former indicates that they belong to the same network model. For example, both are LTE-A systems; the latter is that they are different network environments. In this study, we consider how to improve the handover process when the relationship among H-Net, S-Net, and T-Net are mutually trusted/untrusted. We propose a multi-parameter algorithm, in which parameters include MN’s moving direction, RSRP, homogeneity and network QoS, etc. are addressed, aiming to select a more appropriate target base station for MN. We also use the Media Independent Handover service and Common Radio Resource Management to help the process of MN handover.