Context-Aware Handover in HetNets

In this paper, we focus on the average performance experienced by a mobile user while crossing a pico/femtocell as a function of context parameters, such as user speed, pico/femto cell radius, transmit power of main and subsidiary base stations. The analysis is based on a mathematical model that provides an approximate expression of the average Shannon capacity experienced by a mobile user when crossing the femtocell. The optimal handover policy obtained from such a model is then validated through simulations against other policies, showing that a context-aware handover policy may achieve better performance than handover policies based on a more limited set of context parameters.