Empirical Characterization and Modelling of a Typical WCDMA Cellular Network Towards Enhancing Soft Handoff Decision

Soft handoff decisions are only made whenever necessary so as to enhance the quality of service (QoS) of the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) cellular network. Continuous soft handoffs hinder communication quality, increase network signalling overhead, slow down data transfer, and result in poor channel management. This paper empirically characterizes and models a typical WCDMA network with base station identifications of (AN0479K), (AN0052H), and (AN0530K), all located within Onitsha City, Anambra state, based on the parameters for handoff decision, which include Received Signal Strength (RSS) from current Base Station (BS) and neighbouring BS, the distance of the mobile system (MS) to the target BS, and the heading direction. It was observed that the RSS at the MS increases in strength as it approaches any one of the three BSs and decreases in strength as it moves away from any one of the BSs. This assures that there is no unnecessary handoffs in the WCDMA network and also that the Ping-Pong effect is suppressed when the developed model is assessed intelligently.

WCDMA; Soft handoff; QoS; RSS; Ping-Pong.

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