Supporting QoS over Handovers in LEO Satellite Systems

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks are characterized by topology variations. Although space segment topology varies periodically, connections of mobile stations (MS’s) to the satellite network alter stochastically. As a result the quality of service delivered to users may degrade. Different procedures have been proposed either as part of a resource allocation mechanism or as part of an end-to-end routing protocol to manage transitions of MS’s from one satellite to another (handover). All of these procedures are based on predictions of the requested handovers to facilitate network operation and therefore enhance quality of service. This paper proposes a new handover procedure that exploits all geometric characteristics of a satelliteto-MS connection to provide an equable handover.