A mobility management protocol for IP-based cellular networks

Mobile IP is an IETF RFC that supports transparent host migration on the Internet. In the transition to IP-based cellular networks, it is widely agreed that mobile IP provides an elegant solution for inter-domain, or macro-mobility management, but lacks critical aspects of mobility management needed within cellular networks. The shortcomings have led to the emergence of micro-mobility management protocols. This paper presents an IP-based mobility management protocol, /spl mu/-mobile IP, based on two enhancements, proactive handoff and paging support, to an Internet draft proposal, Regional Registrations. A signaling cost analysis is used to justify the need for such enhancements. We show through simulations the protocol's suitability for supporting real-time communications.