Towards an efficient approach for seamless switching between isolated access networks

Abstract

The demand for private cellular networks is increasing due to their perceived benefits over WiFi networks in providing fast and reliable communication in commercial and industrial zones. Several use cases exist where the user equipment (UE) needs to move between private and public networks co-existing in the same geographical area. Unfortunately, handover and roaming may not always be feasible as private networks are isolated and work independently of the public networks. This thesis studies the problem of seamless switching between isolated networks without losing connectivity. In this thesis, a make-before-break method is proposed, utilizing a custom-developed mobile application on the UE, or mobile device, to simulate manual SIM profile switching without any roaming agreement. To enable seamless network switching, a new network function (NF) with additional capabilities is integrated into the network. An application server (app server) is established to act as an intermediary, facilitating communication between the mobile app and the network. Given the lack of tools for measuring switching performance, we introduce a benchmarking module. Experimental results demonstrate that our method is both reliable and feasible.