Abstract—In 4G wireless networks different access networks operate in cooperative manner. It offers seamless connectivity and high-speed multimedia services in different types of wireless networks. One of the most challenging issues related to mobility is vertical handoff. Mobile IP is a prominent solution to handle mobile node movement in 4G wireless networks. However, Mobile IP suffers from long handoff latency. Our handoff management system tries to improve the performance of handoff operation in basic integration approaches. This paper demonstrates applicability of Information Technology (IT) in 4G wireless networks by proposing a vertical handoff scheme and discusses its operation like: handoff decision-making, networks selection, handoff execution. The proposed handoff scheme is suitable for both tightly and loosely coupled architectures of 4G wireless networks. The scheme represents handoff operations in two basic integration approaches. A simulation study of the vertical handoff is made to evaluate its performance in terms of dropped packets during handoffs in tightly coupled and loosely coupled architectures.
 
Index Terms—vertical handoff, 4G networks, context
 
Cite: S. V. Saboji and C. B. Akki, "A Client-based Vertical Handoff System in 4G Wireless Networks," Journal of Advances in Information Technology, Vol. 1, No. 4, pp. 197-203, November, 2010.doi:10.4304/jait.1.4.197-203