Terminal-Oriented Handover in Small Cell Wireless Systems: A Multi-Layered Recovery Method in Surrounding Cells

This study introduces a terminal-oriented handover method as an alternative to the conventional backhaul-oriented handover in cellular mobile networks. Our method allows mobile terminals to prepare for synchronization with surrounding cell before leaving the serving base station. This approach facilitates handovers even in small cell systems where overlap areas are insufficient. Unlike conventional handovers that require overlapping cells, the entire cell of the target base station becomes a handover section, providing ample time for handover, even at high speeds. Additionally, using Passive Optical Network for the backhaul enables pre-storage of downlink communication data at potential target base stations. This eliminates the need to transfer data from the serving to the target base station during handover, allowing immediate transmission of pending data upon request. By integrating these methods in a multi-layered manner at surrounding cells, the recovery of the mobile terminal’s wireless connection is accelerated, resulting in more flexible handover.