SEAMLESS HANDOVER IN HETEROGENEOUS NETWORK

摘要

A method and device for seamless handover of a communication link between a mobile device (120) and a current network (110) to a new network (130) is provided. The method includes discovering the new network, creating a trust relationship (152) between the current network, the new network and a service provider (140) providing a service to the mobile device through the communication link (160, 161), transferring context parameters from the current network to the new network, and performing a handover of the communication link from the current network to the new network. By creating trust relationships between the current network, the new network and the service provider, the handover can be suitably prepared and then completed in a reduced amount of time. Moreover, by transferring context parameters, the new network is enabled to set-up a required communication environment for handling the communications, avoiding an interruption or termination of a communication service. Since the actual handover requires only a few operations, a seamless inter-network handover at reduced time and with continuous service provision is enabled.