Abstract
In this paper, we propose an application layer-based vertical handover management protocol, called multihoming RTP (mhRTP), for real-time applications with seamless mobility across heterogeneous wireless access networks. The proposed multi-homing RTP provides a soft handover by utilizing multiple available wireless access network interfaces simultaneously. The newly available path is dynamically added to the ongoing session by the mhRTP session manager. Also the decision making of QoS-improving or QoS-guaranteed handover is possible based on the estimation of available bandwidth in each candidate network. The performances of the proposed mhRTP have been analyzed through a series of simulations on OPNET network simulator. From the performance analysis, we confirmed that the proposed mhRTP can provide QoS-guaranteed vertical handover with efficient session managements.