Mobile user registration in cellular systems with overlapping location areas

A family of registration schemes for location management in cellular systems with overlapping location areas (LAs) is considered. These schemes significantly reduce the location updating signaling traffic when compared with conventional (non-overlapping) schemes. This reduction is due to a decrease in the average number of mobile users who are in boundary cells of a given LA and who are registered to this given LA. We present an analytical model to evaluate performance. An algorithm to compute the average location update rate per user is developed. The analysis provides insight into the ability of overlapping LA structures to reduce the location updating signalling. Numerical results are obtained which show the dependence of average location update rate on the amount of overlap.