METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING A HANDOFF DETERMINATION AS A FUNCTION OF SERVICE LEVEL INDICATING METRICS

摘要

Method and apparatus for an access termi-nal which makes handoff decisions between a number of potential alternative attachment points based on service level indicating metrics are described. The access terminal computes a service level indicating metric differently for a current connection than for a potential alternative connec-tion. A service level indicating metric is a function of load-ing information and received signal strength. A selection may be made by selecting between attachment points by se-lecting the attachment point having the highest service lev-el indicating metric from among a plurality of attachment points, one per possible carrier where the attachment point which is considered for a given carrier is the one having the best connection for the given carrier. The access termi-nal handoff decision approach provides handoff decisions which are nearly as optimal as those which can be achieved using a centralized control node but without the require-ment for centralized handoff decisions.