Preserving cell sequence of handoff connections in wireless ATM networks

Preserving ATM cell sequencing is an important issue in the future wireless ATM network. Out-of-sequence ATM cells will cause entire data frame to be discarded and causes either data retransmission or quality of service degradation. Currently there is no connection handoff scheme providing a schematic method to preserve ATM cell sequencing. In this paper, we investigate the issue of preserving ATM cell sequencing during connection handoff sessions. A proposed VP-based hierarchical network infrastructure and a handoff mechanism are used to support connection handoffs and preserve cell sequencing for both uplink and downlink handoffs in the wireless ATM network.