Introduction of Dynamic Weight Factor for Explicit Vertical Handoff

The co-existence of heterogeneous access technologies with largely different characteristics results in handoff asymmetry. As the convergence of dissimilar networks has been envisioned to characterize the next generation wireless networks, the seamless and efficient handoff between different access technologies (vertical handoff) has become essential. As the "best" network has to be chosen, handoff decision should be carefully executed based on network characteristics and dynamics such as link cost, link capacity and power consumption of each available network. In this study, we have proposed dynamic weight factors for explicit handoff notification scheme for mobile systems equipped with an intelligent handoff manager to decide the "best" network interface and "best" time moment to handoff. We have simulated the smart decision model using dynamic weight factors to evaluate various scenarios. Results show that using dynamic weight factor, usage cost and charge consumption can be saved by approximately by 6.44% and 5.50% respectively.