Solving the Incertitude of Vertical Handovers in Heterogeneous Mobile Wireless Network Using MDP

In this paper we introduce and examine via simulations, a Markov decision process (MDP) based approach for vertical handover decision-making. We consider here the case of a heterogeneous network environment where both the legacy WLAN and the novel line-of-sight (LOS)- dependent 60 GHz radio systems are deployed to support indoor high quality multi-media applications. The MDP decision approach takes into account multiple factors such as user preference, network situation, device capability and effects of environment. We show its ability to effectively make handover decision in uncertain situations. The method and results herein are applicable, in general, to any other situation where such a decision is to be made.