A Multi-Criteria eNode-B Pre-Selection and Handover Triggering Scheme for LTE-A Heterogeneous Wireless Network

To establish the best connection possible, different radio access technologies are combined to form a heterogeneous wireless network (HetNets). The HetNets consists of macro cells and small cells in the Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) network. However, the fast pace of development of LTE-A technology has been very challenging due to the increase in the number of user equipment (UE). Managing the selection of the target cell and migration of active communication sessions of the UE between different base station (BS) points is vital for seamless mobility. To address this issue, a multi-criteria eNodeB pre-selection parameter is introduced to pre-select the most suitable cell for handover. The proposed approach aims to enable UE to autonomously assess a list of potential eNodeB located in their direction of movement and choose the most suitable candidate network. A framework for eNodeB selection is developed that considers the distance between the candidate network and the vehicle's trajectory, as well as the mobility information of the vehicle. The important parameters which are the proximity index and distance factor are chosen to identify the best candidate eNodeB. Moreover, we investigate an efficient scheme for the handover trigger to get an optimum distance for handover initiation using the particle swarm optimization (PSO) technique. The results show that to reduce unsuccessful handover, the proposed parameters are reliable for eNodeB selection to self-select the network and improved the successful handover probability by using the proposed optimum distance for handover triggering to initiate the handover process which is 98% of handover will be successful.