Handover

Control &
Management
Handover Control & Management

1.1.1.1 General Description

4Motion™ supports network-assisted, MS-controlled seamless handover between
different BSs. The solution implements several mechanisms that optimize the
handover process by assisting the MS in its choice of target BS, and by
transferring MS-related information between the serving and target BS across the
operator backbone. As a result, handover completion time is significantly
reduced.

Figure below shows the entities participating in the handover process and their
potential interconnections across reference points.

R6 R6
Anchor
ASN GW

R4 R4

Serving Target
ASN GW TGW
TGW
ASN GW

R6 R6 R6

TBS
TBS SBS TBS
TBS
TBS TBS
R8 R8

R1

MS

Figure - Handover Logical Architecture

These entities are described in the table below.

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Table – Handover Participating Entities

Name Description

Anchor ASN-GW The ASN-GW that interconnects the MS data paths with the CSN through
the R3 reference point, as the MS moves across different BSs

MS Mobile Station

SBS (serving base The base station to which the MS is connected before the handover
station)

Serving ASN-GW The ASN-GW associated with the SBS

TBS (target base A base station to which an MS may potentially hand over. There might be
station) more than one TBS during HO preparation stage. Some of the TBSs might
be associated with the serving ASN-GW and some with a target ASN-GWs.

Target ASN gateway An ASN-GW associated with at least one TBS but not associated with the
SBS. There might be more than one TGW during HO preparation stage.

The anchor ASN-GW will continue to serve the MS as it moves across different
BSs. Upon BS handover, the anchor ASN-GW will establish new data paths with
the target BS, either through the target ASN-GW via the R4 interface (“hierarchy
architecture”) or directly to the target BS via the R6 interface (“mesh
architecture”). The selected handover architecture option is provisioned by the
operator in the BS.

1.1.1.2 Network Topology Acquisition

When an MS detects that the level or quality (CINR) of the signal it receives from
its serving BS has degraded beyond a certain threshold, or that the distance
between itself and its serving BS has increased above a certain threshold, it will
begin preparations for an upcoming handover. For this purpose, the MS will
initiate a scanning process whereby it will acquire useful information, such as
signal quality, about the neighboring BSs that are potential handover candidates.
A list of neighboring BSs should be provisioned by the operator in each BS (as a
result of the radio network planning and optimization process), and is advertised
by the BS to its connected MSs. The list also includes useful channel information
about each neighboring BS in order to expedite the synchronization process in a
possible handover.

There are two possible mechanisms to advertise the neighbor list:

 Periodic broadcasting to all connected MS

 Individual transmission to each MS upon its registration to the BS

Handover Control & Management

The BS decides which of these two mechanisms to employ by means of an

algorithm that aims at reducing the overhead introduced by these
advertisements, based on the rate of new MS registrations to the BS.

The scanning process can be performed autonomously by the MS (autonomous

scanning) or in coordination with the BS. In the former case, which is
transparent to the BS, the MS will continue to send and receive user traffic
normally. In the latter case, the BS will allocate time intervals for the MS to scan
for available BSs, during which the MS will be unable to transmit or receive user
traffic. Autonomous scanning is only possible when the neighboring BSs’
frequency assignment is the same as that of the serving BS (i.e. in the reuse 1
and reuse 3-SC scenarios, as described in section Error! Reference source not
found.).

The MS is not limited to scanning for neighbors provided by the BS in the

neighbor list.

1.1.1.3 Predictive Handover

1.1.1.3.1 Handover Decision and Notification
An MS is expected to initiate the handover process upon detecting that one or
more of the following conditions are met:

 The level of the signal it receives from its serving BS has degraded beyond a
certain threshold

 The quality of the signal it receives from its serving BS has degraded beyond a
certain threshold

 The level of the signal it receives from a neighboring BS has improved beyond
a certain threshold

 The quality of the signal it receives from a neighboring BS has improved

beyond a certain threshold

 The difference between the level of the signal it receives from a neighboring BS
and the one it receives from its serving BS has improved beyond a certain
threshold

 The difference between the quality of the signal it receives from a neighboring
BS and the one it receives from its serving BS has improved beyond a certain
threshold

 The distance to the serving BS has increased above a certain threshold

When the MS decides to initiate the handover process, it will send a handover
request, including a list of the neighbor BSs it is considering as potential
handover targets, to the serving BS. This list will be prepared by the MS
according to vendor-specific criteria, conceivably based upon topology
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information broadcast by the serving BS and acquired during the scanning

process.

All thresholds mentioned in sections 1.1.1.2 and 1.1.1.3.1 are provisioned by the
operator and broadcasted by each BS to its connected MSs. The operator can
choose which of these conditions to enforce. For example, it might decide to
trigger a handover only upon degradation of the serving BS signal level.
1.1.1.3.2 Handover Preparation
Upon receiving the handover request from the MS, the serving BS will
communicate with the candidate target BSs across the R8 interface, and send
them information regarding the MS and service flows associated to it.

Each candidate-target BS admission control function will evaluate whether it is

willing to accept the MS, taking into account the MS active service flow
requirements, and will send a response to the serving BS.

The serving BS will collect the responses from all candidate target BSs, and will
select an optimized subset of those candidate target BSs that expressed their
willingness to accept the MS.

Finally, the BS will send this candidate target BS subset list to the MS, along
with a time window in which the candidate target BSs agree to provide a fast
ranging opportunity for the MS to initiate the network entry process. This fast
ranging opportunity is allocated in order to avoid contention with other ranging
MSs.

In order to reduce handover latency, all candidate target BSs that are willing to
accept the MS will perform the following actions in preparation for a possible
handover:

 Allocate fast ranging opportunity

 Obtain MS authenticator context information from the anchor ASN-GW in

order to expedite MS prospective network entry by skipping the
authentication phase

 Establish data path connectivity across the ASN from the anchor ASN-GW to
the candidate target BS

Each candidate target BS will de-establish data connectivity and delete MS

authenticator context if the handover to a specific BS does not occur within a
certain time, or if it is notified that the handover was completed with another
candidate target BS.
1.1.1.3.3 Handover Completion
Figure below shows the MS data path before handover completion.
Handover Control & Management

CSN

R3

ASN GW 1
ASN GW 2
(Anchor/
(Target ASN
Serving ASN
GW)
GW)

R6

BS 1 BS 2
(SBS) (TBS)

R1

MS

Figure – Data path before handover

For the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the serving ASN-GW is the same as
the anchor ASN-GW. Since target BS selection has already taken place, only one
target BS and one target ASN-GW are shown. It is further assumed that the
serving and target BSs are served by different ASN-GWs.

Once the MS has decided to complete the handover with a specific target BS, it
will inform the serving BS of its willingness to do so, and then initiate the
network entry process with the selected target BS, using the allocated fast
ranging opportunity.

In parallel, the serving BS will notify the selected target BS so it can activate the
data paths created during the handover preparation phase. Figures below show
the MS data path after handover completion for the hierarchy and mesh
architecture.
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CSN

R3

R4
ASN GW 1 ASN GW 2
(Anchor ASN (Serving ASN
GW) GW)

R6

BS 2
BS 1
(SBS)

R1

MS

Figure – Data path after handover – Hierarchy

CSN

R3

ASN GW 1 ASN GW 2
(Anchor ASN (Serving ASN
GW) GW)

R6

BS 2
BS 1
(SBS)

R1

MS

Figure – Data path after handover – Mesh

As these figures show, the following changes in the involved entities’ identity take
place after handover completion:

 ASN-GW 2, previously the target ASN-GW, becomes the serving ASN-GW

 ASN-GW 1 remains the anchor ASN-GW

 BS 2, previously the target BS, becomes the serving BS

The serving BS will retain the MS context for some time after having received the
handover indication from the MS, in case the MS decides to cancel the handover
Handover Control & Management

process. This enables the MS to remain in the serving BS without the need for a
new network entry process.

1.1.1.4 Unpredictive Handover

There are several reasons (e.g. sudden loss of signal from serving BS) why an MS
might initiate the network entry process with a new BS without previously
notifying the serving BS, as explained in section 1.1.1.3.2. In this case, upon
receiving a ranging request from the MS, the target BS will obtain MS context and
establish data path connectivity as in section 1.1.1.3, and then complete the
network entry process. If the MS context does not arrive in time, the target BS
will require the MS to perform the full network entry process.

1.1.1.5 Early Ranging

An intermediate scenario between predictive and unpredictive handover, is that
where the MS initiates ranging with one of the target BSs before the handover
preparation process is completed. In this case, the target BS has yet to receive
MS security context from the anchor ASN-GW. This might happen, for instance,
when the MS is unable to maintain a connection to the serving BS until the end
of the handover preparation process.

When early ranging occurs, the target BS waits a predetermined time for MS
security context to arrive from the anchor ASN-GW. If the security context arrives
in time, the handover is completed as in the predictive handover case. If it does
not, the target BS will require the MS to perform the full network entry process.

1.1.1.6 Handover Optimization

An MS full network entry process at the target BS would significantly increase the
handover latency. In order to avoid this, 4Motion™ implements several levels of
handover optimization all based upon the same concept, namely that the target
BS will request certain MS context information from the anchor ASN-GW and/or
from the serving BS instead of acquiring it during the network entry process.

The following handover optimization levels are employed:

 Capabilities exchange – the MS and target BS will not exchange capabilities

but instead, the target BS will obtain MS capabilities from the serving BS

 Authentication (see section Error! Reference source not found.) – the

target BS will not initiate authentication process with the MS, but rather will
obtain the MS authentication key material from the anchor ASN-GW

 Traffic encryption key (TEK) creation (see section Error! Reference source
not found.) – the target BS will not generate and provide new TEKs to the MS,
but rather will obtain current TEKs from the serving BS

 Registration – the MS and target BS will not exchange registration messages

(REG-REQ/RSP)