On the capability of multi-hop cellular networks with mobile relays to improve handover performance

Abstract

Traditional single-hop cellular architectures fail to provision high and homogeneous quality of service (QoS) levels throughout a cell area. In addition, the performance and optimization of handover mechanisms poses significant challenges due to degraded channel conditions at the cell boundaries. In this context, multi-hop cellular networking technologies have been identified as an attractive solution to overcome traditional cellular limitations and improve the performance in handover areas. This paper discusses a novel handover process using multi-hop cellular networks with mobile relays (MCN-MR), and illustrates the benefits of this approach over traditional cellular handovers through field tests.