Handover Algorithm For Machine Type Communication In Lte Network

ABSTRACT

According to the definition of Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP), Machine Type Communication (MTC) is a new type of data communication between machines and devices without human interactions. Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a recent 3GPP cellular standard and is a promising technology to support future MTC data traffic. One of the main goals of LTE is to provide fast and seamless handover from one cell to another to meet strict performance requirements while simultaneously keeping network management simple. Understanding the MTC handover algorithm is a key for designing and optimizing a network and the applicable Quality of Service (QoS) scheme capable of providing adequate communication services. Two existing handover algorithms were evaluated namely A2-A4-RSRQ and A3- RSRP. The performance evaluation was done using simulator that were derived for the handover service in LTE network. Different combinations or settings of threshold, offset, hysteresis and Time-To-Trigger (TTT) values were used to obtain the optimal results. Performance evaluation based on handover measurement within certain deployment scenarios such as different User Equipment (UE)/MTC device speeds and performance metrics were number of handovers, throughput and handover delay. Based on the analysis of the optimal settings of both algorithms under different UE speed scenarios, the performance of the selected algorithms were compared and the results proved that A2-A4-RSRQ performs better than A3-RSRP. It has been shown in simulation that the proposed handover algorithm (A2-A4-RSRQ) can effectively reduce the average number of handovers per MTC device when compared with A3- RSRP handover algorithm. Moreover, the proposed handover algorithm is able to maintain acceptable throughput and handover delay as per 3GPP specification.