Dynamic User Preference Based Network Selection for Vertical Handoff in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

In Heterogeneous Wireless Networks (HWN), seamless Vertical Handoff (VHO) to the best available network is significant in providing Quality of Experience to the Mobile Users. The selection of best available network is based on multiple contrasting handoff decision attributes along with their respective User Preferences. In literature, the user preferences used in various network selection techniques are pre-fixed i.e. static and arbitrary without any standard theoretical basis. This paper proposes a method to moderate these static user preferences on real time basis according to the current value of respective handoff decision attributes, to make them dynamic and realistic. The effect of Dynamic User Preferences on network selection for vertical handoff, is evaluated with the prominent Multi Attribute Decision Making (MADM) methods like Simple Additive Weighting, Multiplicative Exponential Weighting, Technique of Order Preference Similarity to Ideal Solution, and Grey Relational Analysis. Simulations are performed using both static user preference weights from the user and proposed dynamic user preference weights. The result of simulations shows that the number of vertical handoffs, needs to complete an application by a mobile user, using dynamic user preference weights is less in comparison to using static user preference weights for all considered MADM methods. This proves the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic user preferences in network selections to perform VHOs in HWNs.