Wireless & Mobile Communications-IV b

GSM Handoff
Inderdeep Kaur Aulakh Lecturer (Deptt. of IT) UIET, P.U.

Handoff
When

mobile moves into different cell while a call is in progress , the MSC automatically transfer call to new channel belonging to new base station. Handoff must be transparent to the user. User does not have to know whether handoff is taking place or not

HANDOFF BETWEEN TWO CELL

Handoff operations
Identifying a new base station.

Reallocation the control and voice channel with new base station

Handoff threshold
Handoff threshold is the certain predetermine value of signal strength at which handoff take place

Handoff margin

= Phandoff - Pminimum usable cannot be too large or too small.

Phandoff predetermined signal strength at which handoff take place P mimmum usable miminum acceptable signal to maintain the call.

If If

is too large, unnecessary handoffs burden the MSC is too small, there may a lost of call.

In the first generation analog cellular systems, Signal strength Measurements are made by the base station to determine the relative location of each mobile user with respect to the base station. In second generation systems that use digital TDMA technology,handoff decisions are made mobile assisted handoff (MAHO).The MAHO method enables the call to be handed over between base stations at a much faster rate than in first generation analog systems since the handoff measurements are made by each mobile and the MSC no longer constantly monitors signal strengths.

In deciding when to handoff, it is important to ensure that the drop in the measured signal level is not due to momentary fading and that the mobile is actually moving away from the serving base station. Many handoff strategies prioritize handoff requests over call initiation requests when allocating unused channels in a cell site.

Prioritizing handoffs

Guard channel concept In this a fraction of total available channels in a cell is reserved exclusively for handoff requests from ongoing calls which may be handed off into the cell. Queuing of handoff requests is another method to decrease the probability of forced termination of a call due to lack of available channels.

Practical handoff considerations

Using

different antenna heights and different power levels it is possible to provide large and small cells which are co-located at a single location. This technique is called umbrella cell. The umbrella cell approach ensures that the number of handoffs in minimized for high speed users and provides additional microcell channels for pedestrian users.

UMBRELLA
In

this we use large umbrella cell for high speed traffic Small microcells for the low speed. No. of handoff are minimized for high speed vehicles

GSM System Architecture

BSC MS BTS

MSC
PSTN

BTS MS BTS MS

BSC VLR EIR AUC Authentication Center (AUC) HLR

Base Transceiver Station (BTS) Home Location Register (HLR)

Equipment Identity Register (EIR) Visitor Location Register (VLR) Base Station Controller (BSC)

TYPE OF HANDOFF
A.Intra-BSC HandOff B.Inter-BSC HandOff

C.Inter-MSC HandOff

INTER-MSC HANDOFF
1 BSC A 4 BTS A 3

MSC A
3

VLR

HLR

MS

5 BTS B 6

BSC B

MSC B

VLR