Impacts of S1 and X2 Interfaces on eMBMS Handover Failure: Solution and Performance Analysis

In evolved multimedia broadcast/multicast service (eMBMS), service continuity enables users move from one cell to another without interrupting eMBMS service. Unlike traditional handover in unicast transmission, an user equipment can receive eMBMS service in either unicast or multicast mode. In this paper, we point out a new handover failure problem in eMBMS due to the miss of rekeying information. We first take a close look at the new handover scenarios. We then investigate the problem by using comprehensive mathematical models. Our models provide insights on the new handover problem and introduce theoretical guidelines for mobile operators to design and optimize their networks without wide deployment to save cost and time. Moreover, we propose a solution to combat against the handover failure. Both the simulation and analytical results demonstrate that the impacts of the eMBMS handover failure are reduced significantly. In this paper, we present a systematic way to investigate the handover failure problem in eMBMS.