Development and implementation of a handover algorithm in heterogeneous mobile environments

Future-generation mobile communications systems will provide broadband multimedia services to users, anywhere and at anytime. In support of mobility in heterogeneous environments, these systems will provide redefined protocols for handover of active connections. With this in mind, this paper presents a handover algorithm and associated signalling protocols for heterogeneous mobile environments. The derived handover protocols are based on two packet-switched mobile networks: GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and UMTS (universal mobile telecommunication system). The protocols are specified using the Specification and Description Language (SDL). The software package Tau/sup TM/ is then used to implement the signalling protocols from the SDL design.