QoS Analysis in Overlay Bluetooth-WiFi Networks with Profile-Based Vertical Handover

The performance of an overlay Bluetooth and IEEE 802.11b (WiFi) network is considered in terms of quality of service parameters such as the packet latency, the packet error rate, and the throughput, in the presence of a vertical handover procedure, taking into account the mutual Bluetooth-WiFi interference and showing the influence of the main system parameters. The objective is to maximize the user QoS allowing the mobile to switch from a network to the other, with the so-called vertical handover. The basic idea is to activate the vertical handover, not on the basis of the received power level, but by the crossing of thresholds defined by the user profile, which comprises objective values for parameters such as the packet error rate and the packet delay. The results show that the use of the vertical handover procedure can lead to an improvement in the QoS parameters