A Hierarchical Preamble Design Technique for Efficient Handovers in OFDM-Based Multi-Hop Relay Systems

Abstract

In this paper, a new handover procedure for OFDM-based multi-hop relay systems is proposed to reduce handover overhead by distinguishing an inter-cell handover event from an intra-cell handover event at the level of the physical layer using a preamble with a hierarchical design. A Subcell ID concept used to identify relay station in a cell is proposed in the hierarchical design that works in conjunction with the existing Cell ID used to identify base station. The proposed handover procedure can simplify the scanning procedure and skip/simplify the network re-entry procedure, resulting in a significant reduction in handover overhead.