Cost-efficient vertical handover between cellular networks and WLAN based on HMIPv6 and IEEE 802.21 MIH

In order to increase the capacity of wireless communication networks with minor changes and low cost, internetworking between cellular networks and wireless local area networks (WLANs) is considered as an attractive solution. In the internetworking of cellular networks and WLANs, a cost-efficient vertical handover mechanism is required for seamless service provision. In this paper, we propose a cost-efficient vertical handover mechanism for the packet-based cellular networks and WLAN internetworking, where HMIPv6 and IEEE 802.21 are complementarily integrated to optimize the handover procedures. To design the mechanism, we introduce pre-binding update and hierarchical packet forwarding concepts which can reduce handover signaling cost and delay. A mathematical model for handover rates and costs is proposed in order to analyze the proposed mechanism. In performance evaluation, we investigate how various factors affect handover rates and costs, and compare the proposed mechanism against the conventional mechanism.