Towards a better combination of the MADM algorithms for the Vertical Handover optimization in a mobile network multi-access environment

Abstract

Seen the diversity of the technologies of current access networks, the mobile terminals have the possibility of reaching several types of networks at the same time under the concept “Always Best Connected” (ABC). This imposes a good management of the Vertical Handover (VH). We distinguish three phases of the VH: handover initiation, network selection and handover execution. To optimize network selection problem, the methods of the group MADM are proposed. The objective of this article is to compare the various combinations of the MADM methods in the phase of network selection to finally choose the best one, which satisfies at best the requirements in terms of quality of service (QoS).