Mobility using IEEE 802.21 in a heterogeneous IEEE 802.16/802.11-based, IMT-advanced (4G) network

Abstract

Industry is defining a new generation of mobile wireless technologies, called in cellular terminology "fourth generation" or "4G." This article shows that a system combining extensions of two radio access technologies, IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.16, meets the ITU-R's "IMT-Advanced" or 4G requirements. The extensions are 802.16 m (100 Mb/s, 250 km/h) and 802.11VHT (1 Gb/s, low velocity). The focus of this article is to show how IEEE 802.21 (the emerging IEEE standard for media-independent handover services) supports ";seamless"; mobility between these two radio access technologies. This mobility integrates the two radio access technologies into one system. We conclude that an 802.11VHT + 802.16 m + 802.21 system is likely to be proposed to the ITU-R for IMT- Advanced 4G.