Vertical Handover in Heterogeneous Networks: a Comparative Experimental and Simulation-based Investigation

In this chapter, we discuss on the potential and the limitations of Vertical HandOver (VHO) in Heterogeneous Networks (HetNets), on the basis of both experimental and simulation results obtained with two novel low-complexity VHO algorithms. In particular, the experiments are conducted through a small testbed composed by a single MT and a few base stations, whereas the simulation analysis is carried out to investigate large-scale scenarios involving several MTs and base stations.