Performance comparison between utility based and MIH schemes in vertical handover

In the next generation wireless networks, coexistence of different technologies will be a trend. Vertical handover may occur when the mobile terminal moves from one kind of network's coverage to another. A utility based vertical handover algorithm had been proposed to solve network selection, which concerned several pivotal network factors that can estimate the status of the candidate networks. In this paper, we compare the performance of the algorithm and a simple MIH (Media Independent Handover) one on the NS2 platform. Simulation results show that our algorithm can decrease handover times and select a cost effective network to connect.