An Overview of Mobility Management Mechanisms and the Related Challenges in 5G Networks and Beyond

Authors

  • Mustafa Mohammed Hasan Alkalsh 1) Institute of Radiocommunications, Faculty of Computing and Telecommunications, Poznan University of Technology, Poznan, Poland; 2) Department of Mobile Networks, Nokia Solutions and Networks, Wroclaw, Poland https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8777-9130

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26636/jtit.2023.171723

Keywords:

B5G, beam switching, handover, HetNet, mobility management

Abstract

Ensuring a seamless connection with various types of mobile user equipment (UE) items is one of the more significant challenges facing different generations of wireless systems. However, enabling the high-band spectrum – such as the millimeter wave (mmWave) band – is also one of the important factors of 5G networks, as it enables them to deal with increasing demand and ensures high coverage. Therefore, the deployment of new (small) cells with a short range and operating within the mmWave band is required in order to assist the macro cells which are responsible for operating long-range radio connections. The deployment of small cells results in a new network structure, known as heterogeneous networks (HetNets). As a result, the number of passthrough cells using the handover (HO) process will be dramatically increased. Mobility management (MM) in such a massive network will become crucial, especially when it comes to mobile users traveling at very high speeds. Current MM solutions will be ineffective, as they will not be able to provide the required reliability, flexibility, and scalability.
Thus, smart algorithms and techniques are required in future networks. Also, machine learning (ML) techniques are perfectly capable of supporting the latest 5G technologies that are expected to deliver high data rates to upcoming use cases and services, such as massive machine type communications (mMTC), enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable low latency communications (uRLLC). This paper aims to review the MM approaches used in 5G HetNets and describes the deployment of AI mechanisms and techniques in ″connected mode″ MM schemes. Furthermore, this paper addresses the related challenges and suggests potential solutions for 5G networks and beyond.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

I. Chih-Lin et al., "New paradigm of 5G wireless Internet", IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, vol. 34, no. 3, pp. 474–482, 2016 https://doi.org/10.1109/JSAC.2016.2 525739 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/JSAC.2016.2525739
View in Google Scholar

W. Saad, M. Bennis, and M. Chen, "A vision of 6G wireless systems: Applications, trends, technologies, and open research problems", 2019, arXiv:1902.10265 [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/1902.10265
View in Google Scholar

F. Tariq et al. "A speculative study on 6G", 2019, arXiv:1902.06700 [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/1902.06700
View in Google Scholar

A.C. Morales, A. Aijaz, and T. Mahmoodi, "Taming mobility management functions in 5G: Handover functionality as a service (FaaS)", in Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE Globecom Workshops, San Diego, USA, pp. 1–4, 2015 https://doi.org/10.1109/GLOCOMW.2015.7414151 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/GLOCOMW.2015.7414151
View in Google Scholar

V. Yajnanarayana, H. Ryden, and L. Hevizi, "5G handover using reinforcement learning", in Proceedings of the 2020 IEEE 3rd 5G World Forum (5GWF), India, pp. 349–354, 2020 https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1904.02572 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/5GWF49715.2020.9221072
View in Google Scholar

Y. Li et al., "Beyond 5G: reliable extreme mobility management", in Proceedings of the Annual conference of the ACM Special Interest Group on Data Communication on the Applications, Technologies, Architectures, and Protocols for Computer Communication, pp. 344–358, 2020 https://dl.acm.org/doi/proceedings/10.1145/3387514 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/3387514.3405873
View in Google Scholar

E. Gures et al., "A comprehensive survey on mobility management in 5G heterogeneous networks: Architectures, challenges and solutions", IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 195883–195913, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3030762 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3030762
View in Google Scholar

I. Shayea et al. "Key challenges, drivers and solutions for mobility management in 5G networks: A survey", IEEE Access, vol. 8, pp. 172534–172552, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3023802 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.3023802
View in Google Scholar

R. Tiwari and S. Deshmukh, "MVU estimate of user velocity via gamma distributed handover count in HetNets", IEEE Communication Letters, vol. 23, no. 3, pp. 482–485, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/LCOMM.2019.2892962 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/LCOMM.2019.2892962
View in Google Scholar

M.M. Hasan, S. Kwon, and S. Oh, "Frequent-handover mitigation in ultra-dense heterogeneous networks", IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 68, no. 1, pp. 1035–1040, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2018.2874692 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2018.2874692
View in Google Scholar

X. Xu, X. Tang, Z. Sun, X. Tao, and P. Zhang, "Delay-oriented crosstier handover optimization in ultra-dense heterogeneous networks", IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 21769–21776, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2898430 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2898430
View in Google Scholar

Z. Zhang, Z. Junhui, S. Ni, and Y. Gong, "A seamless handover scheme with assisted eNB for 5G C/U plane split heterogeneous network", IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 164256–164264, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2952737 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2952737
View in Google Scholar

M. Alhabo, L. Zhang, and N. Nawaz, "GRA-based handover for dense small cells heterogeneous networks", IET Communications, vol. 13, no. 13, pp. 1928–1935, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-com.2018.5938 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1049/iet-com.2018.5938
View in Google Scholar

K. Vasudeva, M. Simsek, D. Lopez-Perez, and I. Guvenc, "Impact of channel fading on mobility management in heterogeneous networks", in Proc. IEEE International Conference on Communication Workshop (ICCW), London, UK, pp. 2206–2211, 2015 https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCW.2015.7247509 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICCW.2015.7247509
View in Google Scholar

A.S. Cacciapuoti, "Mobility-aware user association for 5G mmWave networks", IEEE Access, vol. 5, pp. 21497–21507, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2751422 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2017.2751422
View in Google Scholar

Y. Koda et al., "Handover management for mmWave networks with proactive performance prediction using camera images and deep reinforcement learning", IEEE Transactions on Cognitive Communications and Networking, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 802–816, 2020 https://doi.org/10.1109/TCCN.2019.2961655 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TCCN.2019.2961655
View in Google Scholar

M.A. Habibi, M. Nasimi, B. Han, and H.D. Schotten, "A comprehensive survey of RAN architectures toward 5G mobile communication system", IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 70371–70421, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2919657 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2919657
View in Google Scholar

L.F. Ibrahim et al., "A survey on heterogeneous mobile networks planning in indoor dense areas", Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 487–498, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-019-01243-y DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-019-01243-y
View in Google Scholar

I. Shayea et al., "Real measurement study for rain rate and rain attenuation conducted over 26 GHz microwave 5G link system in Malaysia", IEEE Access, vol. 6, pp. 19044–19064, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2810855 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2810855
View in Google Scholar

A.S. Bhosle, "Emerging trends in small-cell technology", in 2017 IEEE International Conference on Electrical, Instrumentation and Communication Engineering (ICEICE), pp. 1–4, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1109/ICEICE.2017.8191847 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICEICE.2017.8191847
View in Google Scholar

A. Mukherjee, P. Deb, and D. De, "Small cell zooming based green congestion control in mobile network", CSI transactions on ICT, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 35–43, 2016 https://doi.org/10.1007/s40 012-016-0141-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40012-016-0141-9
View in Google Scholar

S.A. Khan, M. Asshad, K. Küç¸ük, and A. Kavak, "A power control algorithm (PCA) and software tool for femtocells in LTE-A networks", Sakarya University Journal of Science, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 1124–1129, 2018 https://doi.org/10.16984/saufenbilder.373293 DOI: https://doi.org/10.16984/saufenbilder.373293
View in Google Scholar

S.A. Khan, A. Kavak, A. Colak, and K. Küç¸ük, "A novel fractional frequency reuse scheme for interference management in LTE-A HetNets", IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 109662–109672, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2933689 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2933689
View in Google Scholar

M.H. Alsharif, A.H. Kelechi, K. Yahya, and S.A. Chaudhry, "Machine learning algorithms for smart data analysis in Internet of Things environment: taxonomies and research trends", Symmetry, vol. 12, no. 1, 2020 https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12010088 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12010088
View in Google Scholar

G. Liu et al., "Coverage enhancement and fundamental performance of 5G: Analysis and field trial", IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 57, no. 6, pp. 126–131, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2019.1800543 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2019.1800543
View in Google Scholar

P.-J. Hsieh, W.-S. Lin, K.-H. Lin, and H.-Y. Wei, "Dual-connectivity prevenient handover scheme in control/user-plane split networks", IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, vol. 67, no. 4, pp. 3545–3560, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2017.2 778065 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TVT.2017.2778065
View in Google Scholar

A. Mohamed, M. A. Imran, P. Xiao, and R. Tafazolli, "Memory-full context-aware predictive mobility management in dual connectivity 5G networks", IEEE Access, vol. 6, pp. 9655–9666, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2796579 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2018.2796579
View in Google Scholar

M. Hassanalian and A. Abdelke, "Classications, applications, and design challenges of drones: A review", Progress in Aerospace Sciences, vol. 91, pp. 99–131, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2017.04.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paerosci.2017.04.003
View in Google Scholar

R. Amorim et al., "Pathloss measurements and modeling for UAVs connected to cellular networks", in Proc. IEEE 85th Vehicular Technology Conference (VTC Spring), Sidney, Australia, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1109/VTCSpring.2017.8108204 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/VTCSpring.2017.8108204
View in Google Scholar

X. Wang, S. Poikonen, and B. Golden, "The vehicle routing problem with drones: Several worst-case results", Optimization Letters, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 679–697, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11590-016-1035-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11590-016-1035-3
View in Google Scholar

S. Khunteta and A.K.R. Chavva, "Deep learning-based link failure mitigation", in 2017 16th IEEE International Conference on Machine Learning and Applications (ICMLA), Cancun, Mexico, pp. 806–811, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMLA.2017.00-58 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICMLA.2017.00-58
View in Google Scholar

L. Yan et al., "Machine learning-based handovers for sub-6 GHz and mmWave integrated vehicular networks", IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, vol. 18, no. 10, pp. 4873–4885, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/TWC.2019.2930193 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/TWC.2019.2930193
View in Google Scholar

M.D. Renzo et al., "Smart radio environments empowered by reconfigurable AI meta-surfaces: An idea whose time has come", EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking, art. no. 129, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13638-019-1438-9 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13638-019-1438-9
View in Google Scholar

E. Basar et al., "Wireless communications through reconfigurable intelligent surfaces", IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 116753–116773, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2935192 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2935192
View in Google Scholar

S.E. Elayoubi et al., "5G service requirements and operational use cases: Analysis and METIS II vision", in 2016 European Conference on Networks and Communications (EuCNC), Athens, Greece, pp. 158–162, 2016 https://doi.org/10.1109/EuCNC.2016.7561024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/EuCNC.2016.7561024
View in Google Scholar

R. Ahmad, E.A. Sundararajan, N.E. Othman, and M. Ismail, "Handover in LTE-advanced wireless networks: state of art and survey of decision algorithm", Telecommunication Systems, vol. 66, no. 4, pp. 533–558, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11235-017-0303-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11235-017-0303-6
View in Google Scholar

M. Tayyab, X. Gelabert, and R. Jäntti, "A survey on handover management: From LTE to NR", IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 118907–118930, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2937405 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2937405
View in Google Scholar

3GPP standardization, "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) Radio Resource Control (RRC) Protocol specification", TS 36.331 v9.1.0, January 2010 [Online]. Available http://www.3gpp.org/
View in Google Scholar

M.A. Esmail et al., "5G-28 GHz signal transmission over hybrid all optical FSO/RF link in dusty weather conditions", IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp. 24404–24410, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2900000 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2019.2900000
View in Google Scholar

ITU, IMT Vision – Framework and overall objectives of the future development of IMT for 2020 and beyond, M Series, Recommendation ITU-R M.2083-0 (09/2015), 2015 [Online]. Available: https://www.itu.int/rec/R-REC-M.2083-0-201509-I
View in Google Scholar

W. Khawaja et al., "A survey of air-to-ground propagation channel modelling for unmanned aerial vehicles", IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorials, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 2361–2391, 2019 https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2019.2915069 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/COMST.2019.2915069
View in Google Scholar

A.A.A. Boulogeorgos et al., "Terahertz technologies to deliver optical network quality of experience in wireless systems beyond 5G", IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 56, no. 6, pp. 144–151, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2018.1700890 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/MCOM.2018.1700890
View in Google Scholar

M.Z. Chowdhury et al., "Optical wireless hybrid networks for 5G and beyond communications", in 9th International Conference on Information and Communication Technology Convergence (ICTC), pp. 709–712, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1109/ICTC.2018.8539460 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ICTC.2018.8539460
View in Google Scholar

H. Wymeersch, G. Seco-Granados, G. Destino, and D. Dardari, "5G mmWave positioning for vehicular networks", IEEE Wireless Communications, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 80–86, 2017 https://doi.org/10.1109/MWC.2017.1600374 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/MWC.2017.1600374
View in Google Scholar

A. Jain, E. Lopez-Aguilera, and I. Demirkol, "Enhanced handover signaling through integrated MME-SDN controller solution", in 2018 IEEE 87th Vehicular Technology Conference, Porto, Portugal, pp. 1–7, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1109/VTCSpring.2018.8417719 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/VTCSpring.2018.8417719
View in Google Scholar

Cover page of vol. 2 2023 issue

Downloads

Published

2023-06-29

Issue

No. 2 (2023)

Section

ARTICLES FROM THIS ISSUE

License

Copyright (c) 2023 Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

[1]
M. M. H. Alkalsh, “An Overview of Mobility Management Mechanisms and the Related Challenges in 5G Networks and Beyond”, JTIT, vol. 92, no. 2, pp. 53–62, Jun. 2023, doi: 10.26636/jtit.2023.171723.