Location-Assisted Handover for Multimode Mobile Terminals

Present day mobile networks and terminals are rapidly evolving. Wireless networks are evolving towards heterogeneous overlaying infrastructure, while the mobile terminals towards having multimode functionality. Traditional horizontal handover decision mechanisms that mainly depend on signal strength for decision making are unable to realize ubiquitous and seamless mobility across heterogeneous networks as well as true multimode functionality in mobile terminals. Use of location information in decision making would certainly enhance intra and inter technology handover mechanisms by supporting optimized handover management and enhanced terminal operation. As terminals evolve and adopt further wireless technologies for their interfaces, these issues become more important to the early concept and design of such terminals. This paper proposes and describes a novel multimode mobile terminal architecture suitable for realizing location-assisted handover.