Cost analysis of a location management strategy with commonly visited sites in PCS networks

We consider a location management scheme called limited pointer forwarding from commonly visited sites (LPC) in a PCS network. LPC aims to reduce significantly the cost of updating databases in the PCS network. The strategy exploits the fact that it is highly likely for mobile users to move within commonly visited sites (CVSs) (see Makki, S., Computer Commun., vol.23, p.975-9, 2000). We employ analytical models to compare the location management cost of the LPC scheme with existing schemes such as the basic HLR/VLR (home location register, visitor location register) in IS-41. We discuss the conditions under which LPC outperforms the other schemes.